MV-WRLF 


FROM  THE  FOlfECASTLE 
TO  THE  CABIN        * 


1 


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CAPTAIN    SAMUEL   SAMUELS. 


FROM  THE  FORECASTLE 


TO  THE  CABIN 


BY 

CAPTAIN  S.  SAMUELS 

II 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW   YORK 

HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  FRANKLIN  SQUARE 

London  :  30  Fleet  Street 

1887 


Copyright,  1887,  by  Harper  &  Brothers. 
All  rights  reserved. 


•  •    •      •  »• 


G-sso 
2^ 


"  From,  the  Forecastle  to  the  Cabin  "  is  dedicated  to  my  friend^  James 
D.  Smith,  Fresidait  of  the  New  York  Stock  Exchange,  and  Ex-  Commodore 
of  the  New  York  Yacht  Club.  I  offer  this  tribute  in  appreciation  of  the 
seamanship  of  tlie  man  who  has  sailed  his  craft  so  successfully  in  two  sorts 
of  difficidt  waters.  TJiat  others  Jmve  also  appreciated  his  virtues  and  abilities 
is  evident  from  the  fact  that  lie  has  held  two  posts  so  eminent  and  so  enviable 
as  those  that  I  have  named. 


250256 


PREFACE. 


I  HAVE  endeavored  to  give  in  these  pages  a  terse  and 
exact  account  of  my  personal  experience,  under  and  not 
over  drawn,  omitting  details  which  would  make  the 
book  too  voluminous,  and  pointing  out  the  more  dan- 
gerous temptations  which  beset  a  boy  who  has  entered 
upon  a  seafaring  life.  I  liave  avoided  as  much  as  pos- 
sible the  use  of  sea  terms,  that  I  might  not  befog  the 
landsman.  Sailors  will  not  object  to  the  omission,  as 
they  hear  enough  of  sea  talk  in  the  way  of  business. 
Parents  will  find  nothing  herein  to  induce  their  boys 
to  desert  their  firesides,  but  much,  I  trust,  that  will 
prove  the  ti:uth  of  the  saying,  that  "  Truth  is  stranger 
than  fiction."  S.  S. 

Cliff  Cottage,  N.  Y., 
Jan.  3,  1887. 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  I. 


My  Start  upon  a  Seafaring  Life. — Down  the  Schuylkill. — I  Port  the 
Helm  in  an  Emergency. — Falsely  Charged  with  Snoring.— The 
Unquiet  Ocean. — A  Cruel  Remedy  for  Sea-sickness. — In  New  York 
Harbor, — My  Nerves  Unstrung  by  Tales  of  River  Pirates.  .Page  1 

CHAPTER  11. 

A  very  young  Sailor's  Power  of  Imagination. — I  Desert  my  Ship. — 
A  Mild-spoken  Skipper  gives  me  a  Berth.— In  Command  of  the 
Deck  on  Long  Island  Sound. — Hunger  comes  to  me. — I  Steal  a 
Pig,  and  Deceive  my  Master. — In  Newport,  with  Money  in  my 
Pocket. — I  Ship  with  Captain  Cozans  for  Mobile 14 

CHAPTER  IIL 

Overboard  from  the  Mainsail  Gaflf.  —  The  Captain's  Tea  Foams 
when  he  Stirs  it. —  I  Learn  who  Tom  Pepper  is. —  Greed  costs 
our  Captain  a  pretty  Penny.— I  am  Wakened  and  Bidden  to  say 
my  Prayers. — We  Lose  three  Lives  in  the  great  Gulf  Hurricane 
of  1836. — Sailor's  Fun  at  Mobile. — I  Desert  again,  and  Ship  on 
Board  the  Revenue  Brig  Jefferson  as  Coxswain  of  the  Captain's 
Gig.— Piping  proves  Greek  to  me. — Lieutenant  Sampson  saves 
me  from  Getting  a  Dozen  over  the  bare  Back. — I  make  the  Ac- 
quaintance of  French  Peter. — In  Mobile  Jail. — I  tell  Yarns  to  the 
Ladies 26 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Millie,  the  Black  Cook,  Feeds  me  Well.— I  Learn  the  Art  of  Smug- 
gling from  my  Friend  Peter.— Life  is  Lazy  on  Board  the  Jeffer- 


X  CONTENTS. 

son. — We  Lose  our  First  and  Second  Captains  of  the  Top  in  a 
Norther. — I  Desert  again,  this  Time  along  with  Peter.— We  have 
a  Rattling  Time,  and  the  Crimps  ship  us  off  to  Liverpool.— Some 
of  our  Crew  object  to  being  "Shanghaied." — Comparative  Ad- 
vantages of  a  Crust  and  a  Dry  Bed  at  Home. — Money  Flies  in  the 
Great  English  Port.— Peter  and  I  Ship  on  Board  the  Emily  for 
Galveston. — Trouble  in  the  Galley. — I  Thrash  a  Boy  or  two,  and 
Win  the  Captain's  Regard Page  39 

CHAPTER  V. 

Threatened  by  a  Pirate. — I  listen  to  Peter's  wicked  Advice. — My 
Chum  tells  me  a  Tale  to  make  my  Hair  stand  on  End,  and  pro- 
poses a  Scheme  that  causes  my  Knees  to  knock  together. — The 
Pirate  quits  us  on  Sighting  a  Dutch  West  Indiaman. — The  Fate 
of  the  Crown  Prince  William. — I  lose  Peter,  and  go  on  a  Cruise  in 
the  Frigate  Houston  of  the  Texas  Navy. — Our  Lieutenant  Snubs  a 
British  Consul. — I  select  a  new  Chum. — We  meet  the  Pirate  that 
threatened  the  Emily  and  Fire  a  Broadside  at  her. — Yellow- Jack 
comes  Aboard. — I  go  to  New  Orleans  with  a  Prize. — Colonel  Billy 
Wilson  becomes  my  Friend. — I  try  the  Mimic  Stage  for  a  while. — 
My  Chum  Jack  joins  me. — We  are  "  Shanghaied  "  aboard  a  Liv~ 
erpool  Ship,  of  which  we  take  French  Leave.— I  make  a  Visit 
Home 56 


CHAPTER  VL 

Jack  and  I  start  for  a  Trip  around  the  World  on  Board  the 
Haunted  Ship  St.  Lawrence.  —  An  Explicable  Ghost.  —  Father 
Neptune  comes  Aboard  to  Shave  me  at  the  Equator.— The  Isl- 
and of  St.  Paul.  —  I  join  my  Ship  on  Board  a  Log  at  Sydney. 
— We  find  an  Island  full  of  Cannibals,  who  try  hard  to  eat  us. 
—A  Yankee  Whaler  who  had  Married  a  Princess.— Persistent 
Traders 74 


CHAPTER  VIL 

A  Mutiny  at  Manila,  in  which  I  knock  down  the  Mate.— The  whole 
Crew  put  in  Jail. — We  see  a  Fugitive  bayoneted  by  a  Manila 
Soldier.- We  and  the  Captain  cool  down,  and  he  takes  us  out  of 


CONTENTS.  Xi 

Limbo. — I  make  a  Social  Call,  and  barely  escape  Assassination, — 
How  a  Handsome  American  Sailor  became  Captain  of  the  Port  of 
Manila. — A  Typhoon  in  the  China  Sea Page  100 

CHAPTER  Vni. 

Battalio,  the  Malay,  cuts  his  Throat. — Death  of  my  Chum  Jack, 
whose  Thigh  was  Broken  in  the  Storm. — His  Burial  at  Sea.— I 
Study  to  become  an  Officer. — The  Colored  Steward  endeavors  to 
Fire  my  Ambition.— Arrival  in  the  Delaware. — Battalio's  Shock- 
ing Death 115 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Ships  that  I  served  in  as  Officer. — I  Lose  a  good  Berth  by  Falling 
in  Love. — The  English  Service  does  not  suit  me 133 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  Captain  at  Twenty-one.— A  Fight  between  Sailors  and  Marines 
in  a  Dutch  Port. —Dousing  and  Flogging  for  the  Ringleader. — I 
have  a  Verbal  Tilt  with  our  Consul  at  Genoa. — Amoog  the  Isles 
of  Greece 137 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Caught  in  a  Levanter  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago. — I  do  a  Stroke  of 
Seamanship  which  attracts  Attention  Aboard  two  English  Brigs. 
— Sir  Edmund  Lyons,  British  Minister  to  Greece,  accepts  a  Cigar 
from  me  and  praises  my  Countrymen. — I  Return  the  Compliment 
by  a  Piece  of  Foolhardiness  and  by  Showing  my  Heels  to  his  two 
Brigs 154 

CHAPTER  XIL 

Driven  Ashore  in  a  Gale  in  the  Dardanelles  near  the  Plains  of  An- 
cient Troy. — A  Turkish  Commander  who  resembled  the  Actor 
Hackett. — I  am  Hospitable  at  Christmas,  and  am  elected  Admiral 
of  a  great  Fleet,  to  which  I  show  the  Way  into  the  Golden 
Horn. — A  Smart  Turkish  Corvette  which  was  built  by  a  New- 


xii  CONTENTS. 

Yorker.  —  I  decline  to  be  Admiral  of  the  Turkish  Navy.  —  A 
Dozen  of  us  try  to  Swim  the  Bosporus  as  Byron  did.  —  He 
must  have  done  his  Swimming  in  different  Weather. — A  Note 
from  the  most  beautiful  Woman  I  had  ever  seen Page  167 

CHAPTER  Xni. 

I  assist  a  Christian  Lady  to  flee  from  a  Turkish  Harem. — She  comes 
to  me  and  my  Friend,  a  Swedish  Captain,  down  a  Silken  Ladder 
in  the  dead  of  Night,  goes  on  Board  my  Friend's  Ship,  and  sails 
away  to  England,  where  they  are  Married. — Constantinople  be- 
comes too  Hot  to  Hold  me  after  they  are  Gone.— A  Collision  in 
the  Bosporus,  and  a  Run  to  Odessa  in  which  I  beat  the  entire 
Fleet  of  which  I  was  Admiral. — A  Lucky  New-Yorker  the  one 
Ship-chandler  at  Odessa 183 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Bit  of  Life-saving,  of  which  the  Life-savers  of  our  Coast  would 
think  nothing. — Sued  by  the  Man  who  ran  into  me.— For  certain 
Reasons  I  disguise  my  Ship  before  Entering  the  Dardanelles,  and 
run  through  without  the  Formality  of  Waiting  for  a  Permit. — 
The  Fort  fires  at  us,  but  does  not  hit  us 196 

CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Voyage  to  Leghorn,  where  I  make  Enemies.  —  Threatened  by 
Banditti  at  Pisa,  and  Rescued  by  Officers  from  the  United  States 
Naval  Squadron.— Our  Enemies  board  us  as  we  are  about  to  Sail, 
but  Retreat  in  a  Hurry 203 

CHAPTER  XVL 

We  are  Chased  by  two  Boats  filled  with  Pirates.  —  We  Stop  the 
Chase  by  Firing  a  Load  of  Grape  and  Canister  into  each 
Boat. — It's  a  Fortunate  Sailor  who  gets  Shark  for  Dinner. — Ten 
Enjoyable  Hours  at  Cape  Town. — We  enter  Batavia  in  Company 
with  the  Prince  of  Saxe- Weimar,  whom  I  am  the  means  of  get- 
ting on  Shore  Dry-shod. — The  Wonders  of  Chinese  Ship-carpen- 
tering.— Driving  Evil  Spirits  out  of  the  Hawse-pipes 213 


CONTENTS.  xm 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

The  Landing  of  the  Prince  of  Saxe- Weimar. —Fine  Living  at 
an  Aristocratic  Hotel  a  few  Miles  out  of  Batavia. — I  Spend  near 
ly  a  Year's  Income  there  in  Five  Weeks.  —  Attentions  to  my 
Wife,  who  was  the  first  American  Lady  that  ever  Visited  the 
Place. — Our  Departure  from  Batavia  by  Night  amid  Fireworks 
and  Music,  and  a  Wonderful  Display  of  Phosphorescence  in  the 
Sea. — I  am  Washed  Overboard  in  a  Gale  off  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope Page  323 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 

Exchanging  Civilities  at  Sea. — I  get  Bass's  Ale  and  Cheese  and 
Madrid  Onions  from  an  English  Skipper,  and  he  gets  Good  Things 
from  me. — The  Fox  Family  at  Falmouth,  who  have  Furnished 
our  Consuls  there  since  the  Revolution. — My  Wife  and  I  in  Ham- 
burg during  the  Cholera  Epidemic  of  1849.— I  Sell  my  Ship,  the 
Manhattan. — The  Model  of  our  Centre-board  Yachts. — I  carry  a 
Dutch  Steamer  through  a  Storm.— The  Dutch  are  a  Sterling  and 
Charming  People 333 

CHAPTER   XIX. 

I  come  into  the  Command  of  the  Dreadnought,  which  is  built  espe- 
cially for  me. — The  Summit  of  my  Ambition  is  reached  when  I 
become  Captain  of  this  "Wild  Boat  of  the  Atlantic." — We  beat 
Everything  that  Sails  and  a  good  deal  that  Steams. — The  Days 
when  the  American  Flag  made  Liverpool  Fine. — Osceola's  Daugh- 
ter makes  a  Voyage  with  us. — I  Regard  her  as  a  Sort  of  Jonah. — 
We  run  into  Field-ice  and  a  Ship  runs  into  us. — Osceola's  Daugh- 
ter takes  to  the  Boat 249 


CHAPTER   XX. 

The  Mutiny  on  the  Dreadn/)ught. —1  get  a  Crew  of  the  "Bloody 
Forties."  — They  have  Plotted  in  Liverpool  to  "do  for  "  me  and 
take  my  Ship.  —  They  begin  with  Insolence. — I  Knock  one  of 
them  Down  and  Cause  him  to  be  put  in  Irons,  whereupon  the 
Mutiny  breaks  violently  out 367 


XIV  CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

My  Faithful  Dog  warns  me.— He  Flies  at  the  Throat  of  one  Muti- 
neer, and  I  Level  my  Pistol  at  the  Head  of  Another. — No  Sleep 
Aft  and  no  Food  Forward,— Germans  to  the  Rescue.— I  order 
Knives  Overboard,  and  they  go  Dropping  into  the  Sea. — I  Knock 
the  Ringleader  into  the  Forecastle, — The  Mutiny  is  over,  and  the 
Men  go  to  Work  with  a  Will.— We  part  good  Friends  .  .Page  281 

CHAPTER  XXn. 

A  Hurricane  in  the  "Devil's  Blow-hole." — We  are  boarded  by  an 
immense  Sea. — I  am  twice  knocked  Senseless,  and  my  Leg  is 
broken.— We  lose  our  Rudder,  and  are  obliged  to  make  for  Fayal, 
— My  Leg  finds  a  Doctor  after  fourteen  Days, but  is  not  made  sound 
for  many  Months 292 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

PORTRAIT  OF  CAPTAIN   SAMUELS FrOuUspiece 

BREAKWATER  LIGHT 7 

SANDY  HOOK 10 

AT  THE  NARROWS   ,       .      , 11 

NEWPORT 24 

COXSWAIN  OP  THE  CAPTAIN'S  GIG 41 

PORT  OP  LIVERPOOL 53 

THE   STERN-CHASE 67 

ADRIFT  ON  A  LOG 87 

OVERBOARD  AMONG  THE  CANNIBALS 93 

SHIP  IN  A  TYPHOON Ill 

PUMPING  AND  BALING  ALL  NIGHT 114 

"CUTTING  in" • 127 

AMSTERDAM 139 

GENOA 149 

CONSTANTINOPLE 173 

THE  LADY  OF  THE  HAREM 177 

GIBRALTAR 215 

CHINESE  JUNK 220 

A  HURRICANE   OFF    THE   CAPE  OF  GOOD  HOPE 229 

BALING  OUT  THE   LIFE-BOAT 231 

ST.  HELENA 235 

THE  "dreadnought" 251 

HOLY-STONING  THE  DECKS 285 


INTRODUCTOKY  NOTE 

FROM 

THE   BISHOP    OF   NEW   YORK. 


Captain  Samuels  has  given  me  the  privilege  of  read- 
ing the  proof-sheets  of  the  following  pages,  and  has  asked 
me  to  introduce  him  to  the  public.  I  cannot  conceive 
of  a  more  unnecessary  ceremony.  "Good  wine  needs  no 
bush,"  and  "  From  the  Forecastle  to  the  Cabin  "  has  not 
a  dull  line  in  it.  '  The  art  of  telling  a  story  is,  after  all,  as 
an  Irishman  would  say,  a  gift,  and  Captain  Samuels  cer- 
tainly has  that  gift.  I  read  to  some  friends  of  not  un- 
critical disposition  the  tale  to  be  found  in  the  following 
pages  in  Chapters  XII.  and  XIII.,  and  they  paid  it  the 
rare  compliment  of  asking  to  Hear  it  again  the  next  even- 
ing. In  fact,  a  volume  crowded  with  so  much  and  such 
various  incident,  graphically  told,  could  not  fail  to  be  in- 
teresting, and  I  may  add  (for  I  believe  it  is  to  say  so  that 
I  am  especially  asked  to  prefix  these  few  words),  that  if  one 
wanted  an  effectual  deterrent  to  use  in  the  case  of  a  lad 
seized  with  the  fancy  for  going  to  sea,  it  would  not  be 
easy  to  find  it  more  readily  than  in  the  often  painful 
experiences  of  the  author.  The  old  love  of  adventure  at 
sea  is,  perhaps,  not  so  rife  as  a  generation  ago,  but  there 
are  still  lads  who  need  to  have  painted  for  them  in  colors 
more  truthful  than  those  of  much  modern  fiction,  the  life 
of  a  cabin-boy  and  a  sailor. 


xviii  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE. 

I  need  hardly  remind  the  readers  of  these  pages  that 
their  author  alone  is  responsible  for  their  literary  form  as 
well  as  for  statements  of  fact.  It  only  belongs  to  me  to 
add  that  he  has,  I  am  very  sure,  striven  to  tell  the  story 
of  his  boyish  and  youthful  adventures,  mistakes,  and  suc- 
cesses in  a  spirit  of  entire  candor  and  straightforward- 
ness. His  many  friends  who  have  sailed  with  him  in  the 
Dreadnought  and  others  of  his  various  commands  will  be 
glad  to  meet  him  once  more  in  this  volume  of  his  recol- 
lections; and  others,  I  am  confident,  will  be  not  less  glad 
that  he  has  put  them  upon  paper. 

Henky  C.  Potter.    . 

Barcelona,  %?  Km  ^January  14, 1887. 


FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN 


CHAPTER  I. 

My  Start  upon  a  Seafaring  Life. — Down  the  Schuylkill. — I  Port 
the  Helm  in  an  Emergency. — Falsely  Charged  with  Snoring. — 
The  Unquiet  Ocean. — A  Cruel  Remedy  for  Sea-sickness. — In  New 
York  Harbor. — My  Nerves  Unstrung  by  Tales  of  River  Pirates, 

At  the  age  of  eleven  I  took  French  leave  of  home. 
My  step-mother  and  I  had  such  differences  that  a  house 
the  size  of  the  Capitol  at  Wdfehington  would  not  have 
been  large  enough  to  hold  us  both.  When  my  father 
married  her  she  had  a  son  of  my  own  age.  He  would 
not  run  away,  and  so,  to  promote  the  harmony  of  the 
family  circle,  I  ran  away  myself. 

I  was  large  for  my  age,  and  more  fond  of  the  water 
than  of  school.  I  had  devoured  the  works  of  Cooper 
and  Marryat,  which  had  so  stimulated  my  romantic  im- 
agination that  I  determined  on  a  sea -life.  Nowadays 
there  are  no  such  inducements  to  fire  the  youth  as  there 
were  then — no  new  lands  to  discover,  no  pirates  to  en- 
counter, no  slavers  to  capture.  The  romance  of  the  sea 
departed  when  our  white-winged  racers  were  superseded 
by  steamers.  In  these  times  sailing-vessels  are  almost 
things  of  the  past.  The  ship-master  is  now  no  longer  a 
1 


g     ,  ;   ,    ;   from:  TIJEj^rORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

merchant.  At  that  time,  with  prudence,  he  could  amass 
a  fortune.  Telegraphy  now  precludes  any  possibility 
of  a  trading  voyage.  The  highest  attainable  place  now 
is  the  captaincy  of  a  large  steamer.  The  pay  of  such  a 
place  does  not  exceed  three  thousand  dollars  a  year,  and 
in  many  cases  is  only  half  that  sum.  Should  misfort- 
une overtake  the  ship-master  in  the  loss  of  a  ship,  his 
whole  professional  life  would  in  most  instances  be  ru- 
ined. Few  passengers  crossing  the  ocean  realize  the 
anxiety  that  fills  the  heart  of  the  apparently  happy  cap- 
tain. Sitting  at  the  head  of  the  table,  or  walking  the 
quarter-deck,  he  is  a  perfect  picture  of  nonchalance  and 
jollity ;  but  the  canker-worm  of  anxiety  is  in  the  heart 
of  this  man,  who  runs  so  many  risks,  and  hazards  so 
much,  for  the  poor  pittance  of  an  imderpaid  first-class 
clerk.  Let  not  the  young  man  be  carried  away  with  the 
outward  appearance  of  the  ship-master,  whose  life  can 
only  be  compared  to  that  of  Damocles  under  the  sus- 
pended sword.  1  would  not  commit  my  memoirs  to 
paper  if  I  felt  that  they  would,  in  the  slightest,  tend  to 
induce  a  boy  to  become  a  sailor.  The  rough  experience 
I  have  gone  through,  few  could  live  to  endure.  I  have 
seen  many  a  man  who  started  with  me  in  this  race  of  a 
daring  and  reckless  life  fall  early  on  the  journey,  leav- 
ing his  mother,  wife,  or  sweetheart  to  watch  and  wait 
for  one  who  will  never  return  to  her  loving  embrace,  or 
meet  her  again  until  the  sea  shall  be  called  to  give  up 
its  dead. 

After  several  attempts  at  sailoring  on  one  or  two  mi- 
nor trips,  I  found  myself  as  cook  and  cabin-boy  on  board 
the  schooner  Hampton  Westcott,  commanded  by  Captain 


ON  BOARD  THE 

Blew,  with  a  cargo  of  coal,  bound  down  the  Schuylkill 
for  ^ew  York.  Kno^ying  how  to  steer,  [  was  sent  to 
the  helm.  I  was  too  light  to  be  of  much  service  in 
hoisting  the  sails.  A  light,  fair  wind  was  blowing. 
^Nearing  Grey's  Ferry  bridge,  which  was  drawn  to  let 
us  pass,  the  captain  yelled  to  me, 

"  Port,  you  villain,  or  you  will  have  the  masts  out  of 
her !" 

This  order  was  given  so  peremptorily  and  forcibly 
that  it  confused  me  in  an  instant.  The  word  "  port "  I 
did  not  know  was  equivalent  to  larboard.  Fortunately 
the  idea  struck  me  that  Philadelphia  was  a  port,  so  I 
pushed  the  tiller  that  way.  This  was  not  done  a  minute 
too  soon,  and,  indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  presence 
of  mind  of  the  captain's  wife,  who  rushed  up  out  of  the 
cabin  on  hearing  the  confusion,  we  might  have  been  dis- 
masted. She,  taking  in  the  situation  at  once,  let  go  the 
main-peak  halyards  before  any  one  could  reach  them, 
thereby  saving  the  mainsail,  and  escaped  with  the  loss 
of  the  after-horn  of  the  main-crosstree.  During  the  ex- 
citement I  did  not  know  what  would  become  of  me.  I 
was  about  to  jump  overboard  and  swim  ashore,  when 
the  mate's  wife,  who  was  also  on  board,  seized  me  by 
the  back  of  the  neck  and  said, 

"Don't  be  frightened,  little  boy,  the  captain  won't 
hurt  you.     He  is  my  brother,  and  very  kind  to  boys." 

This,  however,  did  not  reassure  me,  and  after  the  sails 
were  all  set,  I  saw  the  captain  coming  aft  with  a  piece 
of  ratlin  stuff  in  his  hand  and  fire  in  his  eyes,  making 
directly  for  me.     His  wife  interposed. 

"  Don't  you   dare  touch  that  boy,"  she  said.     "  You 


4       FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

spoke  to  him  like  a  brute,  nearly  frightening  the  life 
out  of  the  poor  little  fellow.  It  is  a  wonder  the  masts 
are  now  standing.'' 

I  soon  saw  who  the  real  captain  and  mate  were.  I 
had  made  myself  very  agreeable  to  the  ladies,  who  had 
no  children  of  their  own,  by  telling  them  a  most  pitiful 
story  of  my  home  life,  not  giving  them  my  real  name. 
I  had  gone  aboard  under  an  assumed  name,  as  many  an- 
other sailor  has  done  before  and  since.  I  called  myself 
Jack  Williams. 

Sleep  was  a  stranger  to  me  for  the  first  two  or  three 
hours  that  night,  though  the  day  had  been  the  most  try- 
ing and  wearisome  of  my  life.  All  hands  slept  in  the 
cabin,  and  there  I  was  with  the  captain,  mate,  three  men, 
and  the  two  female  mates,  who  were  the  most  influen- 
tial officers  on  board,  and  who  took  me  especially  under 
their  wings.  Tlie  ladies  were  curious,  and  began  ques- 
tioning me.  "  Kow,  sonny,"  said  one,  "  tell  us  all  about 
it.  Who  are  you,  what  are  you,  and  where  did  you 
come  from  ?" 

"That  cock-and-bull  story  you  got  oflf  on  us  about 
your  poor  widowed  mother  with  seven  little  children 
younger  than  yourself  is  all  fudge,"  said  the  other. 
"Tell  us  all  about  yourself.  We  know  you  are  a  run- 
away boy." 

I  tried  to  keep  my  secret,  but  it  w^as  of  no  use.  They 
determined  to  know  all  about  me.  They  questioned  me 
so  vigorously  that  once  or  twice  we  were  asked  not  to 
talk  so  loud,  as  we  were  keeping  all  hands  awake. 
Twice  the  captain  mildly  called, "  Mary,  do  let  the  boy 
alone,  and  turn  in."     After  the  second  invitation  she  re- 


ACCUSED   OF  SNORIXG.  5 

plied,  "  Shut  up,  or  I  will  throw  a  boot  at  you."  The 
mate,  however,  was  a  little  more  stubborn.  "  You  young 
pup,"  he  yelled,  "  if  you  don't  tell  all  you  know,  and 
more  too,  I  will  lick  you  within  an  inch  of  your  life." 
I  knew  that  these  were  Jersey  people.  Jerseymen  were 
looked  upon  in  those  days  as  a  sort  of  Spaniards,  or  half- 
savage.  I  became  somewhat  alarmed,  fearing  bodily 
harm,  and  answered  all  the  ladies'  questions  until  they 
had  quite  exhausted  themselves.  It  turned  out  that 
they  knew  my  father.  They  had  often  heard  from  him 
of  my  exploits,  and  how  troublesome  a  boy  I  was.  He 
had  told  them  that  he  would  not  be  surprised  to  see  me 
brought  home  on  a  shutter,  killed  or  maimed,  as  I  had 
been  almost  drowned  twice.  It  appeared  that  my  fa- 
ther had  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  these  people,  mak- 
ing their  house  his  home  when  he  was  in  that  part  of 
Jersey.  Not  being  especially  in  his  confidence,  I  did 
not  know  who  his  friends  were.  After  the  explanation, 
I  was  told  to  turn  in. 

It  was  not  long  before  I  went  to  sleep,  nor  was  it 
long  before  I  felt  a  punch  in  my  ribs  from  my  bunk- 
mate.  The  punch  was  accompanied  by  the  assurance 
that  if  I  did  not  stop  snoring  he  would  smother  me. 
I  soon  fell  off  again,  only  to  get  a  second  thump.  I 
thought  it  had  broken  all  my  ribs,  and  the  yell  I  gave 
was  something  startling.  I  cried  out  that  it  was  not  I 
that  snored,  and  in  this  I  was  seconded  by  the  shrill 
voice  of  the  mate's  wife,  who  said  it  was  my  bunk-mate, 
as  she  had  frequently  heard  him  before,  and  knew  the 
sound  of  his  bugle.  At  this  he  got  angry,  when  all 
hands  joined   in   complimenting   one   another.      They 


6       FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

quieted  down  at  last,  but  I  was  too  frightened  to  go 
to  sleep.  Presently  Horace  (this  was  my  bunk-mate's 
name)  began  to  toot  up  again.  The  noise  resembled 
that  of  a  fog-horn.  I  slipped  quietly  out  of  bed,  and  lay 
down  on  the  locker,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  cabin. 
The  mate,  who  could  not  sleep,  got  out  of  bed,  took  the 
pitcher  of  water  from  the  table,  and  dashed  it  into  Hor- 
ace's face.  He  jumped  up,  and  the  two  men  clinched. 
Then  all  hands  arose  and  joined  in,  and  for  a  few  min- 
utes there  was  the  liveliest  time  I  had  ever  witnessed. 

When  quiet  w^as  restored,  Horace  said  that  he  would 
be  even  wdth  me  before  long.  The  mate  advised  him 
not  to  lay  a  hand  on  me,  as  he  declared  my  father  never 
allowed  any  one  but  himself  to  whip  me.  (There  was 
no  necessit}^  for  it  either,  for  few  boys  were  so  fre- 
quently attended  to  as  I  was.  My  father  was  a  true 
believer  in  the  Scriptural  doctrine, "  Spare  the  rod  and 
spoil  the  child,"  and  he  faithfully  practised  what  Solo- 
mon preached.) 

It  was  now  three  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  day 
was  beginning  to  break.  The  schooner  got  under  way. 
I  was  told  to  straighten  up  the  cabin.  As  I  was  mak- 
ing my  toilet,  the  captain's  wife,  observing  that  I  had  no 
comb,  presented  me  with  one.  At  that  age  I  needed  a 
comb.  I  had  a  very  heavy  mass  of  black,  curly  hair  on 
a  cranium  upon  the  top  of  which  now  only  one  solitary 
spear  is  left  standing.  This  spear  is  as  upright  as  a  sen- 
tinel or  a  spar-buoy  in  slack-water.  It  appears  to  be 
filled  with  pride,  and  it  seems  to  me  at  times  as  though 
I  can  almost  hear  it  whispering,  "  I  am  monarch  of  all  I 
survey." 


MY  FIRST  SEA-SICKNESS.  7 

We  worked  down  tlie  Delaware,  anchoring  in  the 
breakwater  overnight  in  a  very  dirty  soutli-easter.  At 
dayliglit  the  wind  hauled  to  the  south-west,  and  hav- 
ing gotten  under  way  and  cleared  the  capes,  with  the 
wind  dead  aft,  we  shaped  our  course  up  the  beach, 
wing   and  wing,  for  New  York.      I  had  never  been 


C$r^<^- 


BREAKWATF.a    LIGHT. 

at  sea  before.  A 
*^  strange  feeling  came 
over  me.  The  mo- 
tion of  the  vessel 
unsteadied  my  locomotion,  and  instead  of  entering  the 
door  I  bumped  against  the  side  of  the  galley,  in  which 
my  duties  at  that  time  lay.  I  became  careless  of  what 
I  did.     I  filled  the  fresh-w^ater  kettle  with  salt-water, 


8       FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

and  of  course  the  coffee  and  mush  were  spoiled  that 
morning. 

I  have  never  yet  met  the  writer  who  could  describe 
the  utter  misery  of  sea-sickness.  No  one  can  fully  ex- 
press the  wretched  feeling.  Those  who  have  endured 
the  horrors  of  rtial  de  mer  will  sympathize  with  me 
when  they  know  that  I  was  never  free  from  this  plague 
during  my  first  three  years  at  sea.  That  June  morn- 
ing 1  threw  myself  on  the  fore-hatch,  utterly  reckless 
of  everything.  There  was  quite  a  sea  on.  The  water 
swashed  over  the  decks  and  over  me  also.  I  made  a 
resolve  that  if  I  ever  got  ashoi*e,  the  canals  should  be 
sea  enough  for  me  thereafter.  My  ambition  soared  no 
higher  then  than  to  be  a  horse-driver  of  one  of  those 
safe  crafts  in  which,  when  we  feel  it  time  to  shorten 
sail,  the  captain,  or  his  wife,  who  may  be  steering,  cries 
''  Whoa !"  and  all  the  danger  is  over.  Horace  jeered 
me,  but  another  of  the  sailors  kindly  offered  to  effect 
my  cure.  lie  went  to  the  harness  cask,  took  out  a  small 
bit  of  raw  pork,  to  which  he  tied  a  piece  of  rope  yarn, 
and  told  me  to  hold  on  to  the  end  of  the  yarn  and  swal- 
low the  pork,  and  then  pull  it  up.  He  told  me  to  do 
this  two  or  three  times.  I  believe  I  would  have  tried 
to  swallow  a  handspike  if  I  had  been  told  it  would  cure 
me  of  the  horrible  sensation  I  was  enduring.  Down 
went  the  pork.  I  did  not  realize  what  I  had  done  till 
I  tried  to  pull  it  up,  when  a  fright  seized  me.  Holding 
the  rope  yarn  with  both  hands,  I  ran  aft  to  the  captain, 
encountering  Deborah,  the  mate's  wife,  on  her  way  to 
the  galley  to  see  to  the  breakfast.  She  tried  to  quiet 
me  as  the  captain  took  hold  of  the  yarn  and  yanked  the 


WE   ROUND   SANDY  HOOK.  9 

pork  up.  She  was  quite  beside  herself  at  the  treatment 
I  had  received.  She  was  a  muscular  woman,  and  seiz- 
ing a  belaying-pin,  she  used  it  with  the  skill  of  a  Liv- 
erpool packet-mate  on  the  funny  man  who  had  played 
this  practical  joke  on  me. 

Abreast  of  tlie  Tavern  Houses  (now  Long  Brand ») 
the  wind  hauled  to  the  west  and  the  sea  became  smootli. 
I  began  to  notice  things.  I  certainly  presented  a  sorry 
sight.  A  sweep  who  had  fallen  down  a  chimney  into  a 
tub  of  water  might  vie  with  me  in  color.  The  ladies 
soon  fitted  me  out,  however,  with  some  of  the  captain's 
old  toggery.  I  cannot  say  I  was  cramped  in  them,  nor 
would  "  Rock  "  have  put  me  in  his  fashion-plate  as  a 
model.  Tlie  trousers  would  have  fitted  me  if  they  had 
allowed  me  to  use  the  side -pockets  as  arm-holes,  but 
they  put  suspenders  on  me,  cutting  the  trousers  off  be- 
low the  knee  —  in  spite  of  which,  however,  they  still 
touched  the  deck.  When  fully  rigged  I  looked  as 
though  I  had  been  violently  shortened.  But  I  felt  that 
the  mantles  of  all  the  great  navigators  had  fallen  upon 
me,  and  that  I  would  make  a  mark  in  history. 

The  wind  lasted  just  long  enough  to  allow  us  to  work 
around  Sandy  Hook  on  the  last  of  the  flood,  when  we 
anchored  in  the  Horseshoe.  During  the  evening  the 
conversation  turned  upon  the  allegation  of  certain  scien- 
tific men  that  the  Hook  was  crawling  to  the  northward, 
and  before  long  would  bar  the  channel  to  New  York. 
Then  our  great  city  of  Philadelphia  would  be  the  grand 
entrepot  to  the  Western  world.  Where  the  light-house 
now  stands  on  the  Point  was  the  main  channel  during 
the  Revolution.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
1* 


10 


FROM   THE   FOKKCASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 


deptli 


of  water  in  the  channel  lias  lessened  since  the 
time  of  which  I  write  (fifty 
years  ago),  or  indeed  in  over 
a  hundred  years.  At  present 
British  interests  ai-e  knocking 
at  our  treasury  door  and  ask- 
ing for  the  expenditure  of 
$15,000,000  to  deepen  the 
channel  to  suit  their  obstinate 
notions  of  deep  ships.  When 
our  legislators  wake  up  to  the 
necessity  of  restoring  our  lost 
commerce,  and  appropriate  half 
this  sum  for  that  purpose,  we 
shall  produce  ships  to  suit  our 
waters,  and  again  divide  the 
commercial  honors  of  the  ocean 
with  John  Bull,  who  lately  be- 
lieved that  he  had,  after  thirty 
years  of  study,  produced  the 
fastest  type  of  vessel  afloat, 
but  who  changed  his  mind,  it 
is  to  be  presumed,  when  the 
Puritan  and  Genesta  raced  to- 
gether. He  challenged  us  to 
that  trial  of  speed,  and  in  nine- 
ty days  (not  thirty  years)  we 
built  the  craft  which  so  well 
protected  the  trophy  won  by 
a  single  vessel  (the  famous 
America)  against  his  entire  fleet. 


ON  THE   LOOKOUT  FOR  PIRATES. 


11 


The  anchor  watch  was  set  with  strict  orders  to  look 
out  for  bay  and  river 
pirates  —  whose    indus- 
try is  still  carried  on. 
The  word  pirate  aroused 
a  lively  interest  in  me. 
I    listened   with    bated 
breath  to  the  many  sto- 
ries told  of  the  depre- 
dations   committed    by 
these  robbers  and  mur- 
derers.    Their  prowess 
— I  presume  for  my  es- 
pecial benefit — was  not      > 
drawn  very  mildly.  The      a 
captain's  wife,  noticing     a 
possibly  my  frightened      | 
look,  suggested  that  the      i 
yarns  be  cut  short,  and 
that  all  hands  had  bet- 
ter turn  in.     There  was  ' 
little    need   that    night 
for    any    other    watch 
than  myself,  for  I  doubt 
whether    I    closed    my 
eyes.       The    following 
morning  we  got  under 
way,  and  worked  up  to 
New  York.     While  we 
were  passing  Gibbet  Isl- 
and it  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  the  place  where  pirates 


12      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

were  hanged.  Little  did  I  dream,  as  I  looked  with 
great  interest  at  this  islet,  that  in  after-years  I  was  to 
have  with  me  on  board  a  ship  under  my  command  a 
mutineer  who  should  suffer  the  death  penalty  on  this 
spot.  Of  the  man  Hicks,  and  of  the  mutiny  on  the 
Dreadnought^  I  shall  have  more  to  say  hereafter. 

We  made  fast  at  the  foot  of  Rector  Street,  where  we 
discharged  our  cargo.  Pirates  were  the  topic  during 
Bupper  on  the  first  evening  at  the  wharf.  Two  or  three 
of  the  captain's  friends  who  had  come  on  board  related 
their  experience  of  robberies  committed  on  their  vessels. 
They  told  how  they  had  been  overpowered,  beaten,  and 
gagged ;  how  their  cabins  had  been  stripped,  running 
rigging  unrove,  sails  unbent,  everything  movable  stolen 
and  placed  in  boats  and  rowed  off.  I  became  dreadfully 
frightened  at  these  tales.  They  took  such  firm  hold  on 
me  that  I  must  have  dreamed  of  bloody  battles,  for  I 
awakened  in  a  fright  and  listened  for  footsteps.  Tlie 
light  had  been  put  out,  leaving  the  cabin  in  pitchy  dark- 
ness. I  heard  some  one  jump  from  the  wharf  to  the 
rail.  I  heard  footsteps  coming  aft.  I  heard  the  com- 
panion-slide pushed  back.  Step  by  step  some  one  came 
down  into  the  cabin.  I  was  too  terror-stricken  to  make 
an  outcry.  I  held  my  breath  for  fear  of  having  my 
whereabouts  discovered.  I  heard  the  footsteps  coming 
towards  me.  I  listened  to  the  ticking  of  the  watch  hang- 
ing on  the  forward  bulkhead.  I  heard  the  watch  taken 
from  the  hook,  and  then  its  ticking  ceased,  as  though 
the  robber  had  put  it  into  his  pocket.  Then  the  steps 
came  towards  my  berth.  I  could  restrain  myself  no 
longer.     I  gave  a  terrific  yell  of  "  Murder !  murder !    A 


AN   IMAGINARY   PIRATE.  13 

man  in  the  hold  !  a  man  in  the  hold !"  The  women 
joined  in  the  chorus.  The  men  groped  their  way  to 
the  foot  of  the  cabin  steps,  grappling  one  another. 
Each  supposed  he  had  the  thief.  The  uproar  was  in- 
creased by  the  voices  of  the  two  women  calling  to  their 
husbands,  ''Are  you  alive?  Answer  me;  do  answer 
me !"  All  yelled  to  me  to  get  a  light,  as  I  had  the  tin- 
der-box in  bed  with  me  to  keep  it  dry  and  have  it 
handy.     There  were  no  parlor  matches  in  those  days. 


14  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  II. 

A  very  young  Sailor's  Power  of  Imagination.— I  Desert  my  Ship.— 
A  Mild-spoken  Skipper  gives  me  a  Berth.— In  Command  of  the 
Deck  on  Long  Island  Sound. — Hunger  comes  to  me. — I  Steal  a 
Pig,  and  Deceive  my  Master.— In  Newport,  with  Money  in  my 
Pocket. — I  Ship  with  Captain  Cozans  for  Mobile. 

With  great  difficulty  I  struck  a  light,  after  pushing 
the  table  between  n:ie  and  the  combatants.  I  got  down 
on  my  knees  behind  it,  to  make  myself  as  small  as  possi- 
ble, and  held  the  candle  over  my  head,  which  I  kept 
below  the  table  for  fear  of  being  struck.  The  uproar 
suddenly  ceased  upon  the  discovery  that  no  one  had 
pushed  back  the  slide,  or  come  down  into  the  cabin,  or 
removed  the  watch. 

All  hands  were  more  or  less  scratched  and  bruised  in 
the  grappling  with  one  another,  and  I  certainly  would 
have  received  a  severe  w^hipping  had  it  not  been  for  the 
women,  who  were,  however,  angry  with  me  for  causing 
such  a  disturbance.  It  was  half-past  one.  The  mate 
got  the  whiskey  bottle,  and  after  he  had  given  all  hands 
a  few  drops  several  times  over,  their  good-nature  was  re- 
stored to  its  normal  condition,  and  they  turned  in,  tell- 
ing me  to  go  to  bed,  and  let  the  light  burn  if  I  was 
afraid  to  sleep  without  it.  1  w^as  too  much  excited  to 
sleep.  I  kept  my  eyes  fixed  upon  the  companion-way, 
and  listened  to  the  various  notes  of  snoring.  Sailoi*s 
as  a  class  are  given  to  loud  sleeping. 


A  MIDNIGHT  VISITOR.  15 

It  had  begun  to  rain  hard.  The  large  drops  pattered 
on  deck  with  such  force  that  I  feared  the  deck  would  be 
crushed  in.  I  had  never  heard  anything  like  it  before. 
Again  my  attention  was  drawn  to  the  slide.  It  was  be- 
ing puslied  back.  A  hand  unbolted  the  doors,  which 
were  opened,  and  tlie  legs  of  a  man  came  down.  Pres- 
ently I  saw  his  face,  which  was  begrimed,  evidently  for 
disguise.  He  asked  in  a  low  voice,  "  May  I  come  down  ? 
may  I  come  down  ?"  at  the  same  time  descending  softly, 
so  as  not  to  awaken  any  one.  Strange  as  it  may  appear, 
I  was  not  frightened  then,  as  the  light  was  burning,  but 
I  called,  "  Captain,  captain,  there  is  a  man  in  the  cabin  !" 
To  this  I  received  reply  that  if  I  did  not  stop  my  noise 
and  go  to  sleep  he  would  "  whale  the  hide  "  off  me.  This 
awakened  everybody  again,  when  the  stranger  asked  if 
he  would  be  allowed  to  come  down  out  of  the  rain.  Af- 
ter some  palaver  he  was  allowed  to  take  a  seat  on  the 
floor,  first  being  made  to  close  the  scuttle.  I  kept  my 
eyes  fastened  upon  him  till  daylight,  which  I  feared 
would  never  come.  Then  the  mate  told  the  fellow  to 
go  ashore,  and  to  go  in  a- hurry  or  he  would  boot  him. 
Nothing  could  induce  me  to  go  to  make  the  galley-fire 
unless  some  one  would  accompany  me  on  deck,  as  I 
was  afraid  a  thief  might  be  stowed  away  in  the  galley,  . 
ready  to  murder  me. 

In  three  days  the  vessel  was  discharged  and  ready  to 
return.  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  she  would  leave 
without  me,  and  so  I  ran  away  the  afternoon  of  her  sail- 
ing. Where  to  go  I  did  not  know.  I  had  nothing  but 
what  I  stood  in,  and  not  a  cent  in  my  pocket.  That 
night  I  slept  in  a  butoher^g  cart  near  Franklin  Market. 


16      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

Long  before  morning  I  was  roughly  disturbed  by  a 
brutal  driver,  who,  coming  to  hitch  up  his  horse,  gave 
me  a  kick  which  made  me  feel  as  if  all  my  ribs  were 
broken.  The  yell  I  gave  caused  a  crowd,  which  so  an- 
gered him  that  he  threw  me  to  the  pavement ;  my  head 
struck  the  stones,  and  I  have  no  recollection  of  what  oc- 
curred for  a  few  moments  after.  When  brought  to  by 
some  kind-hearted  market-women,  I  learned  that  a  gener- 
al fight  had  taken  place  on  my  account,  which  ended  by 
the  watchman  arresting  the  combatants.  I  had  received 
an  ugly  scalp-wound,  and  was  badly  bruised  about  the 
body,  but  had  no  bones  broken.  After  receiving  a  cup 
of  coffee  and  a  chunk  of  bread  and  butter,  I  felt  myself 
a  hero,  and  fairly  launched  in  life.  I  sauntered  along 
the  docks  to  find  a  berth,  being  too  small  for  some  skip- 
pers, while  others  called  me  a  young  blackguard,  and 
told  me  to  go  home  and  bring  my  mother.  If  she  was 
good-looking,  and  wanted  me  to  go  to  sea,  perhaps  they 
would  take  me. 

I  finally  boarded  the  schooner  Rlo^  lying  at  a  pier 
near  Wall  Street,  and  commanded  by  Captain  Cozans, 
who  said  at  once,  "  All  right,  my  young  tar,  go  home  and 
bring  your  clothes.  I  will  wait  for  you  half  an  hour. 
As  the  tide  will  be  making  flood,  I  can  wait  no  longer ; 
so  hurry  back."  I  replied  that  I  lived  too  far,  and  that 
my  clothes  did  not  amount  to  much,  and  I  could  leave 
them  for  my  brothers.  lie  said,  '*  You  are  a  good  boy, 
and  I  like  the  way  you  speak.  I  will  be  a  father  to 
you.     Can  you  steer  ?" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  Can  you  cook  ?" 


ON  BOARD  THE  STEAMER   "  RIO."  17 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Have  you  ever  been  at  sea  ?" 

"IS'ot  inucli." 

He  spoke  so  kindly  to  me  that  he  reminded  me  of 
my  Sundaj^-school  teacher ;  but,  oh  dear !  afterwards  I 
found  a  lambskin  covered  a  rough  brute.  He  had  en- 
gaged another  boy  named  George,  who  belonged  in 
Providence.  We  two,  with  the  captain,  completed  the 
crew  bound  to  l^ew^port,  R.  I.  We  were  too  light  to 
hoist  the  sails,  so  two  negro  wharf-rats  were  hired  for 
five  cents  each,  to  help  us  set  the  canvas  and  cast  off  our 
lines.  We  ran  up  the  East  River  with  a  brisk  south- 
w^est  breeze.  The  captain  found  I  could  steer  pretty 
well — better  than  George — and  so  kept  me  at  the  tiller 
all  day.  I  felt  the  importance  of  the  place  I  filled, 
which  was  all  very  well  till  the  novelty  was  wearing  off 
and  my  stomach  reminded  me  that  there  was  a  vacuum 
to  fill.  At  about  three  in  the  afternoon  I  gently  hinted 
that  if  George  would  take  the  tiller  1  w^ould  cook  the 
dinner. 

"  We  don't  want  no  dinner.  If  you  are  hungry,  go 
down  into  the  cabin  and  you  will  find  some  bread  and 
cheese.     Help  yourself." 

George  and  I  went  below  and  finished  the  remains 
of  what  had  been  a  pound  of  cheese  and  some  biscuits. 
The  captain  evidently  was  a  thrifty  man,  who  did  not 
believe  in  laying  in  stores  to  be  wasted,  nor  did  he  be- 
lieve in  a  variety.  He  bought  the  schooner  cheap  in 
New  York,  with  money  earned  by  close  economy.  She 
was  a  light  draught  centre-board  vessel,  his  first  com- 
mand, and  as  the  wind  was  fair  he  expected  to  run  up 


18      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

to  Newport  in  twenty  hours,  and  therefore  had  no  rea- 
son to  lay  in  many  provisions.  We  passed  Captain's 
Island  about  six  o'clock.  The  wind  changed  to  east- 
ward, gaining  strength  as  the  night  advanced.  At  eight 
o'clock  we  furled  the  flying-jib,  after  taking  in  the  main 
gaff-topsail.  She  carried  no  fore.  The  watch  was  now 
set,  the  captain  and  George  taking  the  first  watch  be- 
low. My  orders  were,  just  after  we  had  tacked  close 
under  the  Connecticut  shore,  to  let  her  stand  on  until 
close  under  Long  Island,  then  tack  again  to  the  north- 
ward, and  call  the  watch  at  twelve  o'clock,  or  earlier  if 
it  blew  any  harder,  and  to  keep  a  sharp  lookout  and  see 
that  we  were  not  run  into. 

Here  I  was,  a  lad  of  twelve  years,  in  actual  command 
of  the  deck.  Lord  Nelson,  at  the  battle  of  Trafalgar, 
could  not  have  felt  a  greater  responsibility  than  I  did  at 
this  time.  I  laid  out  some  wonderful  plans  for  the  fut- 
ure. In  the  mean  time  the  wind  was  freshening.  This 
prevented  me  from  falling  asleep,  but  I  became  very 
tired.  I  thought  it  time  to  tack,  the  land  loomed  up 
high.  Its  dark  banks  frightened  me ;  I  feared  I  had 
stood  in  too  close.  I  put  the  tiller  into  the  becket,  and 
ran  forward,  making  fast  the  jib  draw-rope,  then  put 
the  helm  down  to  let  her  come  around.  Becketing  the 
tiller  again,  I  went  forward  and  let  the  jib  draw  once 
around,  with  the  land  astern.     Then  I  felt  safe. 

I  now  judged  it  time  to  call  the  captain.  Upon  look- 
ing down  into  the  cabin  I  found  the  light  put  out,  and 
therefore  could  not  tell  the  time.  When  about  midway 
across  the  sound  I  ventured  down  into  the  cabin,  intend- 
ing to  call  the  captain.     His  loud  snoring  scared  me, 


BOUND   FOR  NEWPORT.  19 

liowever,  and  1  feared  to  wake  him  np.  George  I  could 
not  find,  as  it  was  so  dark  below,  nor  conld  I  stay  down 
but  a  sliort  time. 

I  continued  standing  towards  the  Connecticut  shore, 
the  wind  still  increasing.  I  wanted  to  show  the  cap- 
tain how  plucky  I  was  in  carrying  sail.  In  tacking 
again,  the  shaking  of  the  sails  w^as  so  violent  that  he 
w\as  awakened.  Jumping  on  deck,  he  found  the  schoon- 
er staggering  along  with  her  rail  under  water.  Then 
there  was  a  lively  time  for  a  few  moments  in  lowering 
the  foresail.  His  language  to  me  for  not  calling  him 
before  w^as  anything  but  classical.  I  did  not  tell  him 
he  must  have  been  very  tired  when  he  turned  in,  from 
the  many  times  he  went  below  to  look  at  the  glass,  to 
see  how  the  weather  was  to  be.  By  the  smell  in  the 
cabin  I  judged  that  the  glass  he  inspected  did  not  con- 
tain mercury.  "Jersey  lightning"  was  more  probably 
its  contents.  But  in  this  I  must  have  been  mistaken,  as 
it  was  generally  supposed  that  he  was  a  prohibitionist. 

George  now  steered  while  the  captain  and  I  went  for- 
ward to  see  the  ground-tackle  ready  for  anchoring.  I 
was  terribly  tired,  sleepy,  and  hungry.  I  asked  the 
captain  if  there  was  anything  to  eat  on  board.  He  re- 
plied, "  Do  you  think  I  keep  a  hotel  ?  I  did  not  ship 
you  to  be  stuffed  like  a  turkey  with  truffles.  Salt  beef 
and  pork  are  good  enough  for  you." 

"Where  is  it?"  I  asked. 

"Ashore,  you  young  rascal !  Go  below  and  sleep  off 
your  hunger ;  and  if  you  give  me  that  saucy  look  I  will 
crack  your  jaw.  The  idea  of  a  sailor  saying  he  is  hun- 
gry.    Why,  I  have  been  a  week  at  a  time  without  eat- 


20      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

ing.     Tighten  the  waistband  of  jour  pants  and  take  a 
drink  of  water." 

I  went  below.  Following  a  scent  led  me  to  the  cap- 
tain's berth.  Under  his  pillow  I  found  a  bottle.  After 
refreshing  myself  with  a  portion  of  its  contents,  I  cared 
no  more  for  hunger  than  I  did  for  his  breaking  mj  jaw. 
I  turned  in  all  standing. 

With  the  exception  of  that  in  the  captain's  berth, 
there  was  not  the  approach  to  bedding  in  the  cabin,  but 
I  was  asleep  in  a  moment.  My  dreams  carried  me  back 
to  my  loving  mother :  her  last  dying  look  upon  me,  her 
lips  moving,  and  her  hands  clasped  as  though  praying 
for  me.  I  was  too  young  to  fully  understand — few  chil- 
dren do — what  it  is  to  lose  a  mother.  I  was  dreaming 
that  she  was  caressing  and  fondling  me,  and  had  just 
brought  me  home  such  a  package  of  candy,  when  the 
rough  hand  of  the  captain  hauled  me  out  of  the  berth. 

"  Why  did  you  not  turn  out  when  I  called  ?"  he  asked, 
with  an  oath. 

In  a  dazed  condition  he  hurried  me  on  deck.  No  boy 
knows  the  luxury  of  sleep  so  well  as  the  sailor  boy. 

When  a  poor  little  fellow  craves  a  sea-life,  he  knows 
little  of  the  hardships  he  will  have  to  endure.  He  is 
kicked  and  cuffed  by  every  one  on  board.  He  has  the 
last  chance  at  the  kid.  He  is  the  last  one  to  turn  in,  and 
is  expected  to  be  the  first  on  deck,  and  is  sometimes 
made  to  turn  out  to  light  some  brute's  pipe.  Every 
Saturday  he  has  to  slush  down  the  masts,  and  in  tarring, 
his  job  is  to  tar  down  the  light  stays.  Sailors  have  a 
strange  idea  that  the  rougher  a  boy  is  treated  the  better 
man  he  will  make. 


OUTLOOK   FOR  A  SEA-LIFK  21 

A  mother's  instinct  is  always  opposed  to  her  darling's 
idea  of  a  sea-life.  Tliere  are  some  incorrigible  young 
rascals  who  are  better  at  sea  tlmn  ashore.  It  is  a  kill- 
or-cure  sort  of  profession.  If  a  boy  is  bright  and  dar- 
ing, can  stand  the  hard  usage,  is  not  carried  off  by  a 
malignant  fever,  does  not  fall  from  aloft  and  become 
crippled  for  life,  or  does  not  lose  his  life  by  shipwreck, 
and  can  pass  through  the  ordeal  of  the  degrading  influ- 
ence of  forecastle  life,  he  may  become  a  master  of  a 
ship.  If  his  lucky  star  still  clings  to  him  in  the  selec- 
tion of  a  wife,  he  will  make  a  good  citizen.  However, 
the  chances  are  a  thousand  to  one  against  his  passing 
through  the  ordeal  safely.  And  when  he  has  arrived 
at  the  command  of  a  ship,  what  then  ?  If  he  loses  a 
ship,  although  it  may  not  be  through  any  want  of  skill 
or  care,  he  has  a  black  mark  set  against  him,  and  per- 
haps never  can  get  another  command.  If  his  ship  sinks 
under  him,  and  by  chance  any  lives  are  lost,  he  is  looked 
upon  as  a  coward  for  not  going  down  with  it,  though 
he  may  be  the  bravest  of  the  brave. 

I  have  in  mind  many  instances  of  this  kind.  There 
is  particularly  in  my  memory  one  sad  scene,  the  picture 
of  which  is  now  hanging  on  my  wall.  The  captain  in 
the  case  is  still  alive.  His  ship — I  will  not  call  her 
name — left  Liverpool,  bound  to  Boston.  When  off  the 
Orm's  Head,  a  few  hours  out  from  Liverpool,  she  took 
fire  and  sank,  carrying  down  about  four  hundred  poor 
wretches,  wdio  were  looking  forward  to  landing  on  this 
our  glorious  soil.  The  scene  was  most  heart-rending. 
A  few  lives  were  saved  by  an  English  yacht  in  which 
the  Prince  De  Joinville  was  cruising.     The  captain  of 


23      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

the  ship  happened  to  be  among  those  picked  up  out  of 
the  water.  A  better  or  a  braver  sailor  never  trod  a 
ship's  deck,  yet  he  never  had  another  command. 

Boys,  look  in  the  graveyards,  and  count  on  the  tomb- 
stones, if  you  can,  how  many  sailors  lie  buried  there. 
Has  it  ever  occurred  to  you  how  few  die  natural  deaths? 

When  I  got  on  deck  the  day  was  just  breaking.  I 
found  the  schooner  heading  for  a  bay.  It  may  have 
been  Glen  Cove.  We  came  to  an  anchor  w4th  the 
mainsail  standing,  as  w^e  were  too  w^eak-handed  to  hoist 
it  again  if  it  had  been  lowered.  George  and  I  were 
sent  ashore  to  forage.  The  captain  gave  me  two  dollars 
to  buy  provisions.  As  there  were  no  stores,  I  went  to 
the  nearest  farm-house,  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  fi'om 
the  beach.  I  arranged  a  pitiful  story  as  I  was  approach- 
ing the  farmer's  wife,  who  was  feeding  the  chickens. 
I  had  scarcely  begun  my  narrative  of  hunger  and  hard- 
ship, w^hen  she  rudely  addressed  me  thus : 

''  Stop, you  young  liar!  I  know  that  you  are  chicken- 
thieves.  I  had  my  hen-roost  robbed  last  week  by  just 
such  a  looking  fellow  as  you,  after  he  had  told  me  all 
about  a  shipwreck.  That  night  1  lost  three  dozen  of 
my  finest  chickens.  You  have  come  to  see  if  I  have 
any  left.  I  have  a  great  mind  to  have  you  locked  up  in 
the  jail.  Squire  Jones  lives  near  by,  and  if  you  don't 
leave  pretty  quick  I  will  call  the  men  out  of  the  field 
to  arrest  you.     Now  go,  or  I  will  set  the  dog  on  you." 

Coaxing,  or  offering  to  pay  for  anything  that  she 
would  let  me  have,  was  of  no  avail.  As  I  turned  from 
her  she  said, 

"There  is  no  other  farm  closer  than  a  mile,  and  it  has 


SKIRMISHING   FOR  FOOD.  23 

been  robbed  also.  If  jon  go  there,  it  may  go  hard  with 
you." 

So  I  started  for  the  boat.  On  my  way  I  had  to  pass 
through  an  apple  orchard.  The  apples  looked  very  in- 
viting, but  I  had  been  forbidden  to  touch  even  a  wind- 
fall. When  a  few  rods  from  the  boat  I  looked  back, 
and  found  myself  hidden  from  the  old  woman  by  trees. 
Near  by  was  a  sow,  with  a  litter  of  good-sized  sucklings. 
I  called  to  George  to  shove  off  the  boat,  while  I  seized 
one  of  the  porkers  by  the  snout  before  it  could  squeal. 
Holding  it  before  me,  so  as  not  to  be  observed,  I  jumped 
into  the  boat,  tied  the  pig's  feet,  and  gagged  it  with  my 
handkerchief.  We  pulled  off  to  the  schooner  without 
being  detected. 

When  we  came  alongside,  the  captain  with  an  oath 
gave  vent  to  his  disappointment  at  not  getting  some 
bread,  and  he  uttered  a  stronger  oath  when  I  told  him 
that  I  had  paid  four  dollars  for  the  pig.  I  told  him  the 
old  woman  was  going  to  bake  that  afternoon,  and  would 
send  us  a  loaf.  It  did  not  take  long  to  make  a  fire  and 
boil  the  pig ;  there  was  .no  convenience  to  roast  it. 
There  was  very  little  left  when  we  had  finished  eating. 
There  was  no  salt  or  dressing.  Hunger  is  a  good  sauce. 
It  sharpens  the  wits  also,  but  it  is  an  enemy  to  honesty. 

In  the  afternoon  the  weather  moderated ;  the  wind 
hauled  to  the  southw^ard.  We  got  under  way,  and  the 
next  morning  arrived  at  Newport.  I  left  the  vessel. 
The  captain  refused  to  pay  me  the  two  dollars  which  I 
said  I  had  paid  extra  for  the  pig,  but  he  gave  me  fifty 
cents,  which  he  declared  was  all  that  was  due  me  for 
three  days'  woi'k.     I  suppose  it  was,  but  be  that  as  it 


24 


FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


may,  I  felt  myself  rich  with  it  and  the  two  dollars  that 
I  already  had,  and  I  went  ashore  happy. 

After  my  wardrobe  had  been  reinforced  with  a  shirt 
and  a  pair  of  shoes,  I  looked  around  for  a  vessel  to  go 
to  sea  in.  There  were  none  here  except  fishing-smacks, 
and  they  manned  by  people  of  the  place.  After  faring 
pretty  hard  for  three  or  four  days,  I  was  glad  when 
Captain  Cozans  met  me,  and  asked  if  1  would  like  to 


NEWPORT. 


ship  again  with  him.  He  was  bound  to  Mobile,  and 
needed  a  cook,  as  he  was  going  to  take  passengers.  He 
took  me  to  liis  house  to  help  around  the  place.  His  sis- 
ter, a  smart  girl  a  little  older  than  myself,  gave  me  in- 
struction in  the  culinary  department.  She  was  an  adept 
at  short-cake  and  corn-bread,  knew  how  to  fry  fish  and 
ham,  and  at  baking  beans  had  no  superior.  Sara  was 
also  very  clever  with  the  needle,  and  it  was  she  who 


I  SHIP  WITH  CAPTAIN   COZANS  FOR  MOBILE.         25 

reefed  in  some  of  her  brother's  clothes  to  fit  me,  so  that 
I  started  on  the  voyage  quite  well  supplied.  She  was  a 
nice  girl,  but  oh,  how  ugly  I — pock-marked,  snub-nosed, 
and  red-headed.  I  fell  in  love  w^ith  her,  however,  be- 
cause the  boys  avoided  her,  and  because  she  was  so  good 
to  me.  I  believe  I  whipped  every  boy  in  town  to  whom 
she  owed  a  grudge.  I  was  sorry  w^hen  the  time  came 
to  leave. 

Our  ship  was  ready.  The  cargo  consisted  of  lumber, 
potatoes,  cabbages,  onions,  and  some  pigs  and  chickens. 
We  had  three  cabin  passengers,  who,  with  the  captain, 
owned  the  cargo,  and  w^ere  going  south  to  make  a  fort- 
une. The  crew  consisted  of  captain,  mate  (named  Ball, 
a  Block  Islander),  two  men,  George,  and  myself.  As 
to  the  cooking,  for  the  first  day  or  two  this  duty  de- 
volved upon  one  of  the  men,  I  was  so  dreadfully  sea- 
sick ;  but  a  few  quarts  of  warm  salt-water  brouglit  me 
around  all  right,  and  I  soon  became  as  saucy  as  was  my 
w^ont. 

The  cabin  was  very  smalL  There  w^ere  two  lengths 
of  berths  on  each  side.  Two  of  the  passengers  slept  on 
the  transom.  Stern  windows  gave  light  from  aft  when 
the  weather  was  fine.  A  skylight  lighted  the  cabin 
from  above.  Our  provisions  were  limited  to  a  very  few 
articles.  Every  one  had  access  to  my  store-room,  and  a 
right  to  help  himself. 
2 


FJiOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Overboard  from  the  Ma'msail  Gaff.  —  The  Captain's  Tea  Foams 
■when  he  Stirs  it. — I  Learn  who  Tom  Pepper  is. — Greed  costs 
our  Captain  a  pretty  Penny.— I  am  Wakened  and  Bidden  to  say 
my  Prayers. — We  Lose  tliree  Lives  in  the  great  Gulf  Hurricane 
of  1836. — Sailor's  Fun  at  Mobile. — I  Desert  again,  and  Ship  on 
Board  the  Eevenue  Brig  Jefferson  as  Coxswain  of  the  Captain's 
Gig.— Piping  proves  Greek  to  me. — Lieutenant  Sampson  saves 
me  from  Getting  a  Dozen  over  the  bare  Back. — I  make  the  Ac- 
quaintance of  French  Peter. — In  Mobile  Jail. — I  tell  Yarns  to 
the  Ladies. 

We  were  crossing  the  Bahama  Bank  before  a  light 
north-east  trade-wind,  wing  and  wing,  when,  one  day  at 
three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  the  main  gaff -topsail 
chafed  oif,  and  orders  were  given  to  lower  the  mainsail 
and  reeve  the  sheet  again.  I  immediately  offered  to 
reeve  it  without  having  the  sail  lowered,  and  started  up 
the  mast  by  the  hoops  with  the  end ;  there  were  no  rat- 
lines in  the  rigging,  George  lighted  up  the  bight  to 
me.  The  rolling  of  the  schooner  slatted  the  mainsail  so 
that  the  gaff  jerked  very  hard.  I  got  outside  of  the 
halyard  blocks  without  difficulty,  but  when  I  undertook 
to  shin  the  bare  gaff  the  captain  yelled, 

"  Come  down,  you  young  rascal,  or  you  will  go  over- 
board !" 

Nothing  would  induce  me  to  go  down,  however,  until 
I  rove  the  sheet.  All  hands  w^ere  looking  at  me  while 
1  showed  how  smart  I  was.     I  had  pointed  the  sheet 


OVERBOARD   FROM  THE   MAINSAIL  GAFF.  27 

through  the  block  when,  as  I  made  an  extra  effort  to 
reach  the  end,  the  mainsail  gave  a  heavy  flap,  which 
threw  me  overboard.  In  an  instant  all  was  confusion 
on  board,  while  I  was  leisurely  swmiming,  waiting  for 
the  boat,  which  was  duly  lowered  and  picked  me  up. 
The  fall  into  the  water  stunned  and  took  the  wind  out 
of  me  for  a  moment,  but  I  soon  recovered  to  enjoy  the 
fuss  created.  The  threatened  ''  rope's  ending  "  I  was  to 
receive  from  the  captain  was  nothing  to  the  great  man 
I  felt  myself  in  being  picked  up  out  of  the  sea. 

At  6  P.M.  I  was  sitting  on  my  chopping-block  by  the 
galley  door.  All  hands  were  at  supper.  I  was  think- 
ing of  the  future,  and  the  part  I  was  going  to  play,  when 
the  mate  put'his  head  out  of  the  cabin-scuttle  and  called 
me  aft.  I  found  the  captain  stirring  his  tea  and  looking 
very  grave.  A  froth  like  that  of  new  ale  was  at  least 
an  inch  above  the  cup. 

"  Cook,"  said  he,  "  what  is  this  T' 

"  Tea,  sir." 

"  Taste  it.     What  does  it  taste  like  ?" 

^' Tea,  sir." 

"Drink  it!" 

"Yes,  sir." 

"  What  does  it  taste  like  now  ?" 

"  Tea,  sir." 

"That  will  do.  Go  forward,  you  young  liar.  You 
beat  Tom  Pepper !" 

I  did  not  know  then  who  Tom  Pepper  was,  but  sub- 
sequently learned  that  he  was  an  old  sailor  who  was 
kicked  out  of  the  infernal  regions  on  account  of  his  un- 
truthfulness. 


28  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

Bj  some  chance  a  piece  of  soap,  to  whicli  some  one 
had  been  helping  himself  out  of  my  locker,  must  have 
fallen  into  the  sugar-barrel,  and  from  there  found  its 
way  into  the  captain's  teacup.  I  detected  the  soap  in 
the  tea  the  instant  I  tasted  it,  but  would  not  admit  it. 
It  made  me  feel  dreadfully  ill,  but  my  determination  in 
sticking  to  what  I  said  prevented  me  from  being  sick. 
It  was  a  most  disgusting  dose. 

"We  crossed  the  Gulf  Stream  and  ran  along  the  Flor- 
ida reefs.  I  paid  more  attention  to  what  occurred  out- 
side than  inside  my  galley.  I  was  not  born  to  shine  as 
a  cook.  My  eyes  were  not  large  enough  to  take  in  the 
surrounding  scenery  of  the  historic  waters  and  keys 
made  famous  by  the  buccaneers  of  the  West  Indies  and 
the  Spanish  Main.  We  stopped  at  Key  West,  where 
we  sold  some  of  our  cargo.  I  bought  some  coral  and 
shells  to  take  home,  should  I  ever  see  home  again,  as  a 
peace-offering.     We  then  shaped  our  course  for  Mobile. 

West  of  this  place,  and  near  the  entrance,  we  discov- 
ered the  English  bark  Emerald  ashore,  with  several 
small  vessels  anchored  near  by,  which  proved  to  be 
wreckers — pirates,  I  should  say,  from  the  way  they  were 
stripping  the  ship.  In  this  business  our  captain  and 
crew  were  not  above  taking  a  hand.  Night  approached 
while  they  were  at  it,  and  with  it  a  norther.  Our  peo- 
ple were  too  busy  to  notice  the  coming  storm.  When 
the  first  blast  struck  us  we  started  our  anchor,  and  be- 
fore we  fetched  up  on  the  second,  which  I  with  the  aid 
of  two  of  the  passengers — all  who  were  left  on  board 
— had  let  go,  we  had  dragged  neai'ly  a  mile.  With  much 
difficulty  we  got  our  crew  on  board  and  started.     It  blew 


THE  captain's   greed   ENDANGERS   THE  VESSEL.     29 

SO  hard  that  we  had  to  double-reef  the  sails  and  take  the 
bonnet  out  of  the  jib.  There  was  no  supper  to  cook  that 
night ;  the  weather  was  too  bad — and,  as  far  as  I  was 
concerned,  I  Ijoped  it  would  continue.  At  8  p.m.  I 
turned  in.  At  midnight  I  was  called  out  to  shorten  sail. 
We  furled  the  mainsail,  which  had  split,  and  hauled 
down  the  jib  and  close-reefed  the  foresail.  George  and 
I  went  out  to  stow  the  jib  while  the  rest  were  reefing, 
when  the  vessel  made  a  heavy  plunge,  bringing  her  head 
and  bowsprit  under  water  up  to  the  foremast,  and  wash- 
ing George  and  me  off  the  foot-ropes.  I  was  fortunate 
in  being  caught  by  the  man  at  the  tiller  as  I  was  washed 
aft,  but  poor  George  was  seen  no  more. 

We  hove -to  under  a  close -reefed  foresail,  and  all 
hands  went  below.  Presently  a  heavy  sea  struck  us 
which  swept  the  decks.  During  the  next  lull  we 
furled  the  foresail  and  hove -to  under  a  main -trysail. 
My  galley  was  washed  overboard,  which  worried  every 
one  but  myself.  I  rejoiced  inwardly,  not  deeming  it 
prudent  to  make  any  outward  demonstration.  jS"o  more 
cooking  for  me !  We  lived  on  raw  ham,  salt  herring, 
and  onions  the  rest  of  the  voyage;  the  water  in  the 
cabin  had  spoiled  the  hardtack.  That  night  I  turned 
in,  though  everything  w^as  saturated,  and  slept  as  happy 
as  a  monkey  in  a  menagerie. 

The  next  day  and  night  the  storm  still  continued  in 
violence,  without  a  break  in  the  sky.  The  third  night, 
at  about  eleven  o'clock,  the  captain  shook  me,  saying, 

"  Boy,  wake  up !     Turn  out  and  say  your  prayers." 

The  scene  was  certainly  a  dismal  one.  The  storm 
was  still  raging  with  fury,  and  the  water  knee-deep  in 


30  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN". 

the  cabin.  The  passengers  were  huddled  together  on 
the  transom.  I  tried  to  pick  np  the  captain's  chart, 
which  was  floating  around  tlie  floor,  but  did  not  dare  to 
let  go  my  liold,  as  the  vessel  was  so  tossed  about  that  it 
was  difficult  to  know  which  end  of  her  was  up.  The 
captain  said, 

"  Never  mind  the  chart.  I'll  have  no  more  use  for 
it.     We  shall  all  be  drowned  before  daylight." 

At  the  same  time  I  heard  the  leadsman  giving  the 
draft  of  water,  which  was  rapidly  shoaling.  None  knew 
where  we  were.  It  was  decided  when  we  were  in  six 
fathoms  to  run  up  the  centre-board,  get  her  off  before 
the  wind,  and  try  to  beach  her.  If  we  let  her  get  into 
the  breakers  broadside  to  she  would  turn  over.  One 
heavy  roll  warned  us  that  there  was  no  time  to  be  lost. 
After  running  up  the  head  of  the  jib  she  paid  off.  The 
next  instant  she  raised  her  stern  high  in  the  air,  and 
with  a  fearful  crash,  as  the  sea  rolled  from  under  her, 
she  struck.  Out  went  our  lights  in  the  cabin.  The 
next  breaker  stove  in  her  stern  ports,  half  filling  the 
cabin  with  water.  The  vessel  again  mounted  the  sea, 
and  with  fearful  velocity  was  carried  onward  until  she 
struck  a  second  time,  when  the  following  breaker  struck 
us  square  in  the  stern,  filling  the  cabin,  so  that  we  w^ere 
struggling  in  the  water  over  one  another  to  get  on  deck. 
Two  poor  fellows  were  drowned.  When  we  recovered 
ourselves  we  found  that  we  had  been  carried  over  a  bar, 
and  landed  in  four  fathoms  of  water  perfectly  smooth. 
Then  we  let  go  the  anchor. 

The  vessel  was  full  of  water,  and  no  land  was  visible. 
The  flashes  of  lightning,  with  the  roaring  of  the  wild 


DRIVEN   OVER  A  SAND-BAR  IN   A   GALE.  31 

wind  and  sea,  made  me  grow  ten  years  older  in  the  same 
number  of  minutes.  The  horrible  shrieks  during  the 
death-strnggle  in  the  cabin  are  still  ringing  in  my  ears. 
The  scene  should  have  cured  me  of  my  desire  for  a  sea- 
life,  and  I  wish  it  had.  Tins  storm  was  the  memorable 
hurricane  in  the  Gulf  in  1836. 

All  hands  began  pumping  and  baling  to  free  the 
ship.  The  wind  abated  as  the  long -wished -for  day 
broke,  but  no  land  could  be  seen.  By  4  p.m.  the  water 
was  out  of  the  hold.  As  we  were  exhausted,  the  cap- 
tain gave  us  each  a  good  stiff  glass  of  rum.  The  night 
came  out  starlight,  and  was  followed  by  a  gorgeous  sun- 
rise. We  saw  islands  all  around.  Near  by  was  the  dry 
sand-bar  over  which  the  sea  had  carried  us.  We  did  not 
know  where  w^e  were  until  late  in  the  afternoon,  when  a 
wrecking-sloop  came  along  and  offered  to  pilot  us  out. 
The  wrecker  would  not  tell  our  captain  where  w^e  were 
until  he  liad  struck  a  bargain.  Then  we  found  that  we 
were  off  the  Mississippi,  and  had  been  driven  over  a  bar 
which  extended  from  the  Grand  Grozier  to  the  Bretain 
Island.  That  we  were  not  dashed  to  pieces  was  a  mir- 
acle. 

We  set  our  tattered  sails  and  made  again  for  Mobile. 
As  we  passed  by  where  tlie  Emerald  had  lain  there  was 
nothing  to  be  seen  of  her  but  a  few  timbers.  Our  cap- 
tain hurled  an  anathema  at  her,  and  w^ished  she  had 
gone  to  Davy  Jones  before  he  liad  ever  seen  her.  The 
loss  of  life,  and  what  would  have  been  the  profit  of  the 
voyage,  must  be  charged  to  his  greediness  and  want  of 
Jionesty. 

At  Mobile  we  were  greeted  with  the  usual  amount  of 


32  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

demonstration  by  the  sailor-crimpSj  who  told  us  that  we 
had  arrived  in  high-water  times.  The  pay  by  the  run 
to  Liverpool  was  eighty  dollars,  and  to  Havre  ninety 
dollars,  but  the  best  chance,  and  the  one  by  which  we 
could  get  away  that  night,  was  to  ship  on  board  the  Rev- 
enue brig  Jefferson^  then  waiting  for  a  crew.  Our  two 
men  and  myself  would  make  her  complement.  How 
lucky,  we  thought,  to  get  such  a  chance ;  eighteen  dol- 
lars a  month,  and  nothing  to  do  but  sail  around  the  bay 
and  live  on  the  fat  of  the  land — two  glasses  of  grog  a  day, 
and  plum-duff  twice  a  week.  When  grog  and  duff  are 
offered  as  an  inducement.  Jack  yields  at  once  and  follows 
his  leader,  as  the  camel  follows  the  music  of  his  driver. 

That  niglit,  when  all  were  asleep  in  the  cabin,  the  two 
men  and  I  slipped  on  deck,  where  we  were  met  by  the 
crimps,  who  took  charge  of  our  baggage  and  led  us  to 
the  grog-shop.  The  watchman  lent  a  hand,  though  the 
law  prohibited  any  one  carrying  bundles  through  the 
streets  after  9  p.m.  The  watchmen  of  those  days  were 
quite  up  to  those  of  the  present. 

I  was  shipped  as  an  A.  B.,  and  was  given  to  under- 
stand that  my  duties  Avould  be  confined  to  steering  the 
captain's  gig,  of  which  I  was  to  be  the  coxswain  ;  to  see 
that  no  one  squirted  tobacco -juice  around  the  cabin 
door,  and,  above  all,  to  see  that  there  wxre  no  quids  left 
around  on  the  main  liferail,  as  they  stained  the  paint 
badly.  I  felt  myself  quite  equal  to  perform  these  du- 
ties with  any  man ;  therefore,  I  signed  for  six  months, 
and  received  thirty-six  dollars  pay  in  advance  for  two 
months.  I  was  rigged  up  in  a  man-of-war  suit  of  duck 
and  a  straw  hat.     The  whole  midit  have  been  worth 


THE  REVENUE   BRIG   "JEFFERSON.'*  33 

five  dollars,  and  when  I  remonstrated  with  the  people 
who  had  me  in  charge  for  keeping  the  balance  of  my 
money,  the  watchman  told  me  if  I  did  not  shut  up  he 
would  take  me  to  the  calaboose,  and  the  old  woman  that 
kept  the  house  declared  that  she  had  cashed  an  order 
from  me  on  her  that  afternoon.  She  vowed  that  she 
would  not  be  cheated  by  a  young  pup  like  me,  and  that 
if  she  were  a  man  she  would  give  me  a  licking  for  try- 
ing to  rob  a  poor  innocent  widow.  I  was  glad  to  get 
out  of  the  house.  My  shipmates  fared  worse  than  I 
did,  for  they  were  made  drunk  and  gagged,  and  so  were 
taken  on  board  the  Jefferson.  When  the  officer  of  the 
deck  asked  what  was  the  matter,  he  was  told  that  after 
we  had  received  our  advance  we  tried  to  run  away. 
When  I  tried  to  speak,  the  boatswain  promised  me  a 
dozen  laslies  if  I  dared  to  say  a  word. 

At  4  A.M.  all  hands  were  piped  on  deck  to  heave  up 
the  anchor.  We  soon  got  under  way,  and  proceeded 
down  the  bay  about  twelve  miles  or  more,  and  then 
anchored.  The  crew  consisted  of  Captain  Foster,  who 
was  not  on  board ;  First-lieutenant  McLane,  a  man  of 
Scotch  descent,  who  was  constantly  grinding  his  teeth, 
and  was  a  great  believer  in  the  cats ;  Second-lieutenant 
Sampson,  a  large,  good-natured  man  from  Maine  ;  Third- 
lieutenant  Smoot,  I  believe  from  Virginia,  a  sharp,  thin- 
faced  fellow  who  did  not  know  much  and  showed  it  by 
letting  McLane  ride  rough -shod  over  him  before  the 
crew,  who  took  advantage  of  Smoot  on  all  occasions; 
the  usual  number  of  petty  officers,  and  sixty  men  for- 
ward. The  brig,  with  her  four  broadside  carronades  and 
a  long-Tom  swivel,  was  a  match  for  any  pirates  or  smug- 
2* 


34  FROM   THE   FOKECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

glers,  supposed  to  infest  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  After  the 
decks  were  holy -stoned  and  brasswork  and  guns  pol- 
ished, all  liands  were  piped  to  breakfast.  Everything 
was  new  to  me.  I  was  like  a  cat  drinking  her  early 
morning  milk,  I  enjoyed  it  so  much.  After  breakfast 
all  hands  were  piped  to  stations.  I,  being  the  smallest, 
was  appointed  fore-royal-yard  man,  and  when  that  sail 
was  not  used,  I  was  to  attend  the  bunt-jigger  in  the  fore- 
top.  On  deck,  I  attended  the  fore -royal  brace.  All 
hands  w^ere  piped  aloft  to  mend  sails ;  that  is,  to  loose 
and  refurl  sails.  Up  w^e  scrambled  to  our  stations. 
*' Stand  by  to  loose,''  was  piped.  "Loose,"  was  the 
next  pipe.  "  Let  fall,"  the  next.  Then  the  boatswain 
piped,  "  Pick  up  and  furl." 

The  piping  was  perfect  Greek  to  me,  but  I  w^atched 
the  rest  of  the  crew,  and  did  as  they  did,  and  so  far  all 
went  w^ell.  Now  came  the  rub.  I  had  never  helped 
furl  a  square  sail.  I  rolled  my  sail  up  as  well  as  I  knew 
how.  The  bunt  was  nowhere,  the  boatswain  piped  at 
me  without  avail,  and  the  more  he  piped  the  more  con- 
fused I  became.  All  hands  were  on  their  yards,  sails 
furled,  staring  up  at  me. 

Lieutenant  McLane  could  stand  it  no  longer.  He 
came  forward  on  the  forecastle,  and  forgetting  himself 
in  his  anger,  called  me  very  uncomplimentary  names, 
and  shook  his  fist  in  such  a  savage  way  that  I  felt  that 
keel-hauling  would  be  my  punishment  w^ien  I  landed 
on  deck.  All  hands  were  piped  down.  A  Boston  boy 
named  Nickerson,  much  larger  than  I,  was  sent  aloft  to 
exercise  and  show  me  how  to  furl  a  royal.  He  did  this 
very  kindly,  but  sadly,  saying, 


ORDERED  FOR  PUNISHMENT.  35 

'*  I  am  sorry  for  you.  How  you  will  catch  it  when  you 
get  on  deck !  I  have  been  in  the  brig  four  months,  and 
have  seen  four  dozen  served  out  for  a  much  less  offence 
than  yours.  Do  you  think  you  can  stand  it?  It  will 
only  be  a  few  strips  of  flesh  off  your  back,  and  it  will 
give  you  a  chance  to  show  your  grit  and  have  something 
to  brag  about  when  you  are  a  man — how  you  could  take 
a  couple  of  dozen  and  not  w^ink.  The  sailors  will  all 
feel  proud  of  you  if  you  take  your  punishment  without 
a  yell,  especially  as  it  would  make  McLane  mad  if  you 
showed  no  signs  of  caring  a  d — n  for  him  or  the  boat- 
swain's cats." 

When  we  came  down,  all  hands  were  called  to  witness 
punishment.  We  mustered  aft.  I  was  seized  up  by  the 
thumbs  to  the  main  fiferail,  my  body  bent  forward,  and 
my  back  bared  ready  for  the  lashes.  One  dozen  was  my 
award.  I  did  not  utter  a  word.  My  teeth  were  tight- 
ly clinched,  I  was  determined  to  show  my  pluck,  and, 
Indian-like,  to  brave  death  rather  than  make  an  outcry 
for  mercy.  A  murmur  of  dissatisfaction  was  plainly  to 
be  heard  among  the  crew,  as  the  boatswain  made  ready 
to  strike.  Hardened  as  he  was  at  this  work,  he  hesi- 
tated a  moment  before  flaying  my  little  white  back.  This 
hesitation  was  caused  by  the  uplifted  hand  of  Mr.  Samp- 
son, who  had  approached  Mr.  McLane,  when  words  in 
an  undertone  passed  between  them.  I  was  then  ordered 
to  be  cut  down.  Mr.  McLane  asked  me  how  I  had  dared 
to  ship  as  an  A.  B.  When  I  told  him  all  the  circum- 
stances, and  what  I  had  expected  my  duties  were  to  be, 
all  hands  gave  vent  to  their  feelings  in  laughter,  where- 
as but  a  few  moments  before  they  were  ready  to  mutiny 


86      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

and  risk  being  sliot  rather  than  see  me  flogged.  Mr. 
Sampson  shared  in  the  feelings  of  the  crew,  and  his  re- 
monstrance saved  me,  as  well  as  the  serious  consequences 
which  he  saw  threatening.  He  spoke  kindly  to  me,  and 
told  me  to  go  forward.  Mj  feelings  gave  vent  in  tears 
as  1  thanked  him. 

French  Peter,  the  desperado  of  the  forecastle,  who  had 
braved  many  battles,  had  offered  to  take  my  punishment, 
and  undoubtedly  would  have  led  the  mutiny.  Flogging 
had  been  a  pastime  on  this  vessel,  and  the  crew  had 
about  determined  to  put  an  end  to  it.  My  case  was  a 
good  cause  for  them  to  espouse.  When  I  went  forward 
Peter  claimed  me  as  his  own.  We  became  chums.  He 
said  that  I  had  good  stuff  in  me,  and  the  making  of  a 
good  topman,  and  perhaps  a  boatswain.  This  man  played 
a  very  prominent  part  in  shaping  my  future,  and  I  shall 
speak  of  him  again. 

For  the  three  succeeding  days,  we  were  constantly  ex- 
ercised in  handling  sails,  working  guns,  holy -stoning, 
etc.  On  the  third  day  a  schooner,  with  a  sheriff  and  a 
posse  of  officers  and  several  captains  who  had  lost  their 
crews  and  wanted  to  find  them  again,  came  along-side. 
Among  the  captains  was  Captain  Cozans.  A  demand 
was  made  upon  us  for  deserters.  All  hands  were  mus- 
tered, and  each  captain  picked  out  his  men  and  took 
them  away,  the  result  being  that  the  brig  lost  about  half 
her  crew.  All  these  men  had  had  their  two  months'  ad- 
vance from  the  Government,  and  this  easy  submission 
to  the  civil  authorities  cost  Lieutenant  McLane  his  place, 
which  was  filled  by  Lieutenant  De  Costa,  the  same  who 
was  in  command  at  Charleston  of  the  Revenue  cutter, 


IN  MOBILE  JAIL.  37 

which  fired  the  gun  that  precipitated  the  great  rebel- 
lion. 

We  were  taken  to  the  city  and  before  a  magistrate, 
who  gave  us  a  taste  of  Alabama  justice.  The  captains 
told  their  stories ;  the  sailors  had  nothing  to  say.  My 
captain  said  his  two  men  and  I  had  shipped  at  Newport 
for  the  round  voyage,  and  told  how  we  deserted.  I  tried 
to  tell  the  magistrate  that  I  had  not  signed  any  articles, 
but  was  told  to  hush  up.  I  may  have  been  a  little  saucy, 
for  when  I  attempted  to  speak  again  I  was  grabbed  by 
the  tliroat  and  hustled  out  of  court  in  the  most  uncere- 
monious and  violent  manner,  and  was  locked  up  with 
the  rest  of  my  shipmates.  Presently  some  lawyers  like 
those  who  in  N^ew  York  City  frequent  the  Tombs  po- 
lice-courts and  go  under  the  name  of  ''  shysters  ''  came 
to  us  and  offered  to  get  us  out  for  ten  dollars  each.  I 
was  among  the  few  unfortunates  who  had  not  the  w^here- 
withal  to  purchase  such  valuable  aid,  and  was  therefore 
left  in  jail.  The  fare  was  not  sumptuous,  the  company 
was  the  scourings  of  a  vile  city.  They  numbered  among 
them  murderers,  burglars,- and  pickpockets.  With  such 
delectable  companions  I  was  associated  nineteen  days, 
which  I  spent  in  observing  humanity  in  its  degraded 
forms.  The  lesson  taught  me  here  was  that  liberty 
and  honesty  are  synonymous.  I  formed  a  determination 
never  to  be  in  prison  again.  The  time  of  the  prisoners 
was  mostly  occupied  in  card-playing,  boxing,  wrestling, 
and  dancing ;  but  how  they  all  longed  for  liberty !  I 
passed  part  of  my  time  in  laundry  w^ork.  One  morning 
I  would  wash  my  shirt,  and  go  without  until  it  was  dry  ; 
the  next  day  I  would  treat  my  ducks  to  a  swim,  and  pre- 


88      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

sent  the  appearance  of  a  young  Highlander.  Mj  ward- 
robe, it  must  be  understood,  did  not  boast  of  many 
changes ;  it  was  an  Irish  fit-out — "  a  put  on,  a  take  off, 
and  a  go  naked." 

I  was  told  that  my  schooner  had  sailed  by  the  same 
crimp  who  had  induced  me  to  desert  her,  and  who  had 
taken  part  in  robbing  me.  He  told  me  that  if  I  would 
sign  an  order  on  the  purser  of  the  Revenue  brig  for  two 
months'  extra  advance,  which  he  said  it  would  take  to 
pay  the  sheriff  and  costs  of  court,  he  would  get  me  out ; 
if  not,  I  should  stay  where  I  was,  and  rot.  But  he  said 
he  felt  sorry  for  me,  and  would  try  to  have  me  released. 
I  had  had  enough  of  prison  life,  and  although  I  would 
have  to  work  out  a  "  dead  horse  "  of  four  months,  I  glad- 
ly signed  the  order  when  it  was  prepared,  and  the  next 
day  I  found  myself  aboard  the  brig,  and  happy  to  get  a 
square  meal  at  the  mess.  Peter  having  charge  of  it  that 
week,  I  fared  well. 

Now  for  the  first  time  I  saw  our  captain,  who  was  a 
tall,  liandsome  man,  about  sixty  years  old,  with  iron-gray 
hair  and  mustache.  I  was  ordered  into  his  cabin,  where 
he  asked  me  to  give  an  account  of  myself.  The  natural 
austerity  of  his  countenance  gave  place  to  the  benignity 
of  a  good-hearted  sailor  while  I  related  my  history  in  a 
half-whimpering  way.  His  wife,  good  soul,  who  had  no 
children  of  her  own,  fortunately  for  me  was  in  the  cab- 
in at  the  time  with  Mrs.  De  Costa,  the  first-lieutenant's 
wife.  The  ladies  expressed  much  sympathy  for  my 
hard  lot,  which  I  drew  in  strong  colors. 


MAN-OF-WAR  LIFE. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Millie,  the  Black  Cook,  Feeds  me  Well.— I  Learn  the  Art  of  Smug^ 
gling  from  my  Friend  Peter.— Life  is  Lazy  on  Board  the  Jeffer- 
son.— We  Lose  our  First  and  Second  Captains  of  the  Top  in  a 
Norther. — I  Desert  again,  this  Time  along  with  Peter. — We  have 
a  Rattling  Time,  and  the  Crimps  ship  us  off  to  Liverpool.— Some 
of  our  Crew  object  to  being  "Shanghaied." — Comparative  Ad- 
vantages of  a  Crust  and  a  Dry  Bed  at  Home. — Money  Flies  in  the 
Great  English  Port.— Peter  and  I  Ship  on  Board  the  Emily  for 
Galveston.— Trouble  in  the  Galley.— I  Thrash  a  Boy  or  two,  and 
Win  the  Captain's  Regard. 

Now  began  my  life  in  a  man-of-war.  I  was  ap- 
pointed coxswain  of  the  captain's  gig.  I  liad  the  care 
of  that  boat,  and  carried  messages  to  and  from  the  ves- 
sel. The  captain  and  the  ladies  occupied  a  house  on 
Mobile  Point,  near  the  fort.  Everj  morning  early  I 
was  sent  ashore  with  my  boat's  crew  of  four  men,  who 
would  ramble  around  and  work  about  the  house  while  I 
rigged  up  a  tent  on  the  beach  and  took  the  ladies  down 
to  bathe.  The  trip  generally  resulted  in  my  having  a 
good  breakfast  with  Millie,  the  black  cook,  with  whom 
I  had  become  a  great  favorite.  She  always  had  some- 
thing nice  saved  for  me.  I  kept  the  old  woman  sup- 
plied with  tobacco  for  smoking  and  snuff  for  chewing. 
She  was  a  perfect  type  of  the  Southern  Dinah,  clean  as 
a  new  pin  from  the  bandanna  on  her  head  to  her  white 
stockings,  of  which  she  was  very  proud.     She  did  not 


40  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

know  her  age,  but  declared  that  she  belonged  to  Gen- 
eral Washington,  and  also  to  General  Jackson,  and  was 
in  'New  Orleans  with  the  latter  when  lie  fought  his  fa- 
mous battle.  She  loved  to  talk  as  much  as  I  loved  to 
listen  while  stowing  away  chicken-gumbo,  curried  pig, 
corn-cakes  and  molasses,  and  all  such  delicacies. 

There  were  no  clothes  in  the  slop-chest  to  fit  me,  so 
Peter  rigged  me  out  in  true  man-of-war  style.  He  em- 
ployed some  men  to  make  my  hat-s  and  canvas  shoes, 
while  my  pumps  were  brought  from  town.  He  himself 
made  my  clothes.  Men-of-war's  men  ai*e  adepts  with 
the  needle.  My  trousers  fitted  so  snugly  that  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  pinch  me.  I  was  the  pet  of 
the  crew,  and  an  apt  scholar.  At  a  jig  or  a  hornpipe  I 
had  no  superior. 

Peter  had  an  eye  to  business,  and  taught  me  some- 
thing in  the  way  of  smuggling.  My  boat's  crew,  of 
course,  were  in  with  me,  and  we  rarely  came  off  at  night 
without  a  bladder  or  two  of  whiskey  under  the  boat, 
tied  to  the  lanyard  that  went  through  the  plug.  As  the 
gig  was  never  hoisted  above  the  rail,  we  were  safe  from 
detection.  Peter  attended  to  the  sale  and  kept  the  cash. 
Strange  to  say,  he  was  so  judicious  in  his  disposition  of 
the  liquor  as  not  to  let  any  man  have  enough  to  become 
noisy,  and  we  were  never  suspected.  This  game  lasted 
for  six  months.  In  that  time  Peter  had  taught  me  to 
make  all  the  splices  and  knots,  the  use  of  the  compass 
and  the  lead-line,  and  to  hand,  reef,  and  steer  with  any 
man,  besides  all  the  deviltry  which  was  known  to  the 
sailors  of  that  time.  The  life  was  a  lazy  one.  Occa- 
eionally  we  would  get  under  way  to  give  the  ladies  a 


COXSWAIN    OF    THE    CAPTAIN  S    GIG. 


CAUGHT  IN   A   "NORTHER."  43 

sail,  and  once  we  went  as  far  as  Pensacola,  but  it  was 
our  liabit  to  stay  anchored  so  long  in  one  place  tliat  we 
were  in  danger  of  grounding  on  our  beef-bones. 

Once  we  were  caught  in  a  norther  which  came  out 
very  cold  and  was  followed  by  a  snow-flurry.  Signals 
were  made  from  shore  by  the  captain,  who  w^as  rarely 
on  board,  for  us  to  up  anchor  and  run  for  the  cove.  We 
hove  sliort,  and  all  hands  were  piped  aloft  to  reef  the 
sails.  The  lead  w^as  taken  by  the  first  and  second  cap- 
tains of  the  top,  in  turning  which  the  first  captain  lost 
his  hold,  owing  to  the  sharp  jerking  of  the  ship,  or  per- 
haps to  the  numbness  of  his  hands,  and  fell  backward, 
striking  the  second  captain  in  his  fall,  when  both  went 
overboard,  striking  the  rail  in  their  descent.  The  men 
drifted  slowly  astern,  apparently  lifeless,  in  a  very  short, 
choppy  sea.  In  lowering  away  the  starboard  quarter 
boat,  with  the  crew  in  it,  the  forward  fall  fouled.  Mr. 
Smoot  had  his  liand  caught  in  the  block,  and  to  save 
the  hand,  one  of  the  men  cut  the  rope,  when  down  went 
the  boat  bov/  first,  dumping  her  whole  crew  overboard. 
In  the  mean  time  the  second  cutter  had  got  away  safely 
and  pulled  for  the  men,  while  w^e  on  board  managed  to 
save  the  first  cutter's  crew.  The  second  cutter  returned 
with  the  second  captain,  but  the  first  had  sunk  before 
the  boat  reached  him.  The  young  fellow  who  was 
picked  up  lived  only  a  short  time,  and  died  in  great 
agony  of  injuries  that  he  had  received  in  striking  the 
rail. 

A  few  days  after  this  Peter  said  that  we  had  money 
enougli,  and  that  we  should  draw  all  we  could  from  the 
purser  and  desert  the  ship,  as  it  was  no  place  for  me  to 


44      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

sto]3  in  any  longer.  I  had  learned  to  love  this  man  so 
that  I  would  have  followed  him  anywhere.  He  said 
that  he  would  sham  sick,  so  as  to  be  sent  to  the  hospital 
at  Mobile,  where  we  could  get  a  ship  for  Europe.  He 
told  me  to  ask  for  liberty  to  accompany  him  to  the  city. 
I  had  no  difficulty  in  getting  permission,  or  in  drawing 
a  month's  pay.  Shamming  sick  proved  a  success.  Two 
days  later  we  found  ourselves  in  Mobile  early  in  the 
morning.  Upon  landing  we  were  met  and  shown  to  a 
sailor  boarding-house,  the  only  home  Jack  knows.  Well 
does  Jack  know,  too,  that  he  will  be  swindled  before  he 
leaves  it.  We  were  received  with  the  usual  demonstra- 
tions that  the  sailor  provokes  when  he  lands  with  his 
pockets  well  filled.  We  were  assigned  to  the  best  room, 
and  all  hands  were  called  to  drink  at  our  expense.  We 
breakfasted  sumptuously,  and  had  the  seats  of  honor  at 
the  table.  A  23lan  for  the  day's  pleasure  was  laid  out  as 
w^e  ate.  Two  cari-iages  and  two  large  coaches  with  flags 
were  engaged.  Everybody  was  invited.  After  break- 
fast we  started,  and  what  a  jolly  time  we  had ! 

There  had  been  a  great  deal  of  drinking,  and  when 
we  returned  in  the  evening  Peter  was  so  helpless  that 
he  had  to  be  put  to  bed.  I  stayed  in  the  room  with 
him.  I  had  not  taken  any  liquor,  for  fear  of  being 
drugged,  I  took  off  Peter's  belt,  which  contained  most 
of  our  money,  and  fastened  it  around  my  own  waist,  as 
I  felt  myself  the  safer  custodian  of  the  two.  On  being 
invited  to  supper  I  feigned  fatigue,  and  turned  in,  after 
fastening  and  barricading  the  door. 

It  was  not  long  before  it  seemed  as  if  bedlam  had 
broken  loose.     A  general  fight  was  going  on  in  the 


THE  CRIMPS  SHIP  ME  OFF  TO  LIVERPOOL.  45 

house.  Pistols  were  used,  and  the  screaming  of  tlie 
women  and  the  oaths  of  the  men  were  frightful  to  hear. 
I  had  not  undressed,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  my 
churn  I  would  have  jumped  out  of  the  window.  The 
police  finally  cleaned  out  the  place  below  and  all  be- 
came quiet.  To  arouse  Peter  was  impossible.  I  was 
overcome  by  fatigue,  and  fell  asleep,  but  was  soon 
awakened  by  loud  rappings  at  the  doon  I  was  too 
frightened  to  speak.  The  door  was  broken  in,  and  I 
was  seized,  blindfolded,  gagged,  and  led  out  of  the 
house.  They  told  me  that  if  I  squealed  I  would  have 
my  throat  cut.  I  was  taken  into  a  dark  cellar,  and  bid- 
den to  stay  there  until  I  was  wanted.  I  cried  myself 
asleep.  How  long  1  slept  I  don't  know.  "When  I  woke, 
my  thirst  and  hunger  were  painful.  Finally  a  villau- 
ous  rascal,  carrying  a  lighted  candle,  unlocked  the  door, 
and  said  that  if  I  would  ship  for  Havre  he  would  give 
me  something  to  eat  and  drink.  I  asked  for  Peter,  and 
was  told  that  he  would  ship  on  the  same  vessel.  I 
agreed  to  everything  in  order  to  see  daylight  again.  I 
got  something  to  eat,  and  what  I  supposed  was  some 
coffee,  but  I  had  hardly  drunk  it  when  a  stupor  seized 
me,  from  which  I  only  recovered  under  a  rough  shak- 
ing and  a  bucket  or  two  of  water  which  was  soused  over 
me.  Then  I  found  myself  in  company  with  Peter  on 
board  the  ship  J^elvedere,  of  Baltimore,  Captain  Oli- 
ver, bound  for  Liverpool  via  Appalachicola,  where  we 
were  to  land  sixty  thousand  bricks  and  reload  with  cot- 
ton. We  were  told  that  we  had  shipped,  and  had  re- 
ceived eighty  dollars  each  in  advance.  Protest  was  use- 
less, and  we  obeyed  when  we  were  ordered  to  man  the 


46      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

windlass  quickly  under  penalty  of  having  our  heads 
smashed. 

This  was  Wednesday.  We  could  give  no  account  of 
ourselves  since  Monday.  We  had  been  robbed  of  our 
money  and  uniforms,  and  were  rigged  out  in  old  trousers 
and  ragged  shirts.  These,  with  the  Scotch  caps  that  we 
found  on  our  heads,  were  all  we  could  show  for  the 
money  and  dunnage  that  we  had  landed  with  from  the 
Jeffersmi^  to  say  nothing  of  the  advance  the  captain  told 
us  we  had  received  from  him. 

To  be  carried  or  forced  on  board  of  a  ship  in  this 
manner  is  what  is  termed  in  sailor  parlance  being 
^'  Shanghaied."  The  word  was  coined  in  N^ew  York  in 
the  latter  part  of  our  Liverpool  packet  and  California 
clipper  service,  when  men  were  scarce  and  wages  high. 
Many  times  have  I  seen  men  mustered  to  roll-call  who 
did  not  know  the  names  they  had  shipped  under  or 
where  they  were  bound.  This  barter  in  human  flesh,  I 
am  happy  to  say,  is  no  longer  practised.  Only  six  out 
of  a  erew  of  sixteen  on  the  Belvedere  were  able  to  stand 
up ;  so  the  captain  ordered  the  mate  to  pull  over  to  the 
cutter  for  assistance  to  help  us  to  get  under  way.  Peter 
told  him  that  we  belonged  to  her,  and  had  been  shang- 
haied and  robbed.  The  captain  did  not  want  to  lose  us, 
or  his  hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  so  we  managed  to  get 
up  our  anchors  without  extra  aid.  We  had  a  tough  job 
to  set  our  sails,  but  finally  passed  the  fort,  and  headed 
for  Appalachicola. 

Now  began  a  voyage  on  which  occurred  the  most 
shocking  scenes.  As  I  said  before,  there  were  but  six 
of  us  who  could  do  anything.     I  did  not  amount  to 


CRUEL   MANNER  OF   TREATING  SICK  SAILORS.         47 

much,  as  I  was  too  liglit ;  but  I  could  steer,  and  I  made 
up  in  activity  at  liglit  work  what  was  wanting  in  weight. 
My  chum  was  as  good  as  tliree  men.  His  herculean 
strength  and  splendid  seamanship  stood  him  in  good 
stead  now.  We  were  well  treated,  as  all  sailors  are  if 
they  do  their  duty  without  a  growl.  We  had  not  been 
out  an  hour  when  one  of  the  crew,  in  a  fit  of  delirium 
tremens,  jumped  overboard,  while  nine  men  in  the  fore- 
castle were  either  sick  from  being  drugged  or  had  yel- 
low-fever. The  mates  believed  them  to  be  shamming, 
and  used  their  fists  and  ropes'-ends  accordingly.  The 
w^ay  these  poor  fellows  were  beaten  was  dreadful.  The 
captain  would  stand  by  and  look  on,  saying,  "  Give  it 
to  them.  I'll  have  my  eighty  dollars  out  of  them,  or 
kill  them  if  they  don't  go  to  work.''  Four  of  them  suc- 
cumbed and  were  thrown  overboard  like  carrion  during 
our  trip  of  three  days.  The  other  Rvg  were  landed,  and 
I  believe  also  died.  Our  ship  had  been  a  perfect  pest- 
house.  They  fumigated  us,  and  we  had  no  communica- 
tion from  the  shore  for  ten  days.  At  the  end  of  that 
time  we  began  discharging-  the  bricks. 

Four  men  of  the  six  remaining  determined  to  desert. 
They  were  not  sailors,  but  Hoosiers.  They  had  been 
brutally  treated.  Peter  and  I  entered  into  the  plot  to 
help  them  to  escape.  We  could  not  have  bettered  our 
condition  by  deserting,  and  felt  ourselves  safer  on  board 
than  ashore.  It  took  us  a  week  to  save  enough  of  onr 
scanty  portion  of  food  to  provide  them  a  three  days' 
supply,  as  they  intended  to  steer  for  Pensacola.  We 
were  to  have  what  dunnage  they  could  not  take  as  re- 
ward for  assisting  them.     We  were  glad  to  get  rid  of 


48  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

the  men  anjliow,  as  we  certainly  could  get  no  worse 
ones  in  their  places.  A  sail  had  been  secretly  prepared, 
and  the  starboard  quarter  boat  was  selected  for  their 
purpose.  The  night  fixed  for  their  escape  had  arrived. 
The  hour  was  two  o'clock  in  the  morning,  and  our  cap- 
tain and  olficers  were  asleep  under  the  awning  aft.  The 
men  armed  themselves  with  hatchets  and  cleavers  from 
the  galley,  but  none  had  fire-arms.  They  had  promised 
US' not  to  attempt  to  murder  the  officers.  Their  will 
was  good  enough  to  do  so,  however,  in  i*etaliation  for 
the  hard  treatment  they  had  received.  They  got  into 
the  boat,  while  Peter  and  I  passed  their  dunnage  to 
them.  Then  we  went  forward  to  watch  events.  Pres- 
ently one  of  them  got  out  of  the  boat,  hatchet  in  hand, 
and  went  to  the  binnacle,  in  which  hung  a  w^atch  to 
show  the  ship's  time.  This  he  put  into  his  pocket. 
Then  he  approached  the  sleeping  mate,  and  raised  the 
hatchet  as  if  to  strike ;  but  after  a  moment  of  hesitation 
he  turned  and  got  into  the  boat  again.  Then  they  held 
a  consultation,  and  Peter  felt  sure  they  were  discussing 
a  proposition  to  kill  the  officers  and  rob  the  cabin  before 
they  left.  Their  original  plot  was  that  we  should  all 
join  in  and  murder  the  officers  and  rob  the  cabin,  and 
then  set  fire  to  the  ship.  I  begged  Peter  not  to  listen 
to  this,  as  we  had  no  reason  to  complain  of  our  treat- 
merit  from  the  officers.  The  suspense  we  were  in  end- 
ed as  we  heard  them  lower  away  rapidly.  The  boat 
had  not  touched  the  water  before  all  was  confusion  aft. 
T  lieard  the  men  cut  the  falls  which  had  fouled  and  let 
the  boat  drop.  Guns  and  pistols  were  fired  at  them  by 
tlie  officers,  but  as  the  night  was  dark,  with  a  fresh 


A  PORTION   OF   OUR  CREW   DESERT.  49 

breeze  blowing,  and  the  current  strong,  they  were  soon 
out  of  sight.  The  horrible  oaths  I  heard,  and  the  ex- 
citement of  this  hour,  made  a  life-long  impression  on 
me. 

Our  captain  hailed  a  schooner  whicli  w^as  close  under 
our  stern,  and  requested  her  to  get  under  way  and  catch 
the  boat.  He  offered  a  hundred  dollars  for  the  service. 
The  schooner  slipped  her  anchor  and  started  in  pursuit, 
but  fortunately  did  not  find  the  runaways.  If  they  had 
been  found  blood  would  have  been  shed.  The  schoon- 
er's crew  little  knew  the  desperate  character  of  the  fugi- 
tives. When  the  officers  came  forward  to  see  who  had 
escaped,  they  found  Peter  and  me  apparently  sound 
asleep.  We  disclaimed  all  knowledge  of  what  had 
occurred. 

Seamen  were  very  scarce  thereabouts,  and  we  were 
compelled  to  sail  six  men  short,  which  made  the  ship  a 
floating  workhouse.  This  we  could  stand,  but  the  food 
was  of  the  worst  kind,  and  short  at  that.  We  never 
had  vegetables  on  the  passage  of  thirty-hve  days  to  Liv- 
erpool. ^N^early  all  of  us  .had  the  scurvy.  Added  to 
this,  the  beating  that  some  of  these  men  were  daily  sub- 
jected to,  made  them  on  landing  fit  subjects  for  the 
hospitals  which  they  entered. 

My  young  friend,  a  crust  of  bread  and  a  dry,  warm 
bed  at  home  you  will  find  better  than  the  romance  of 
the  seas,  so  beautifully  depicted  by  some  authors.  Yet 
a  sea-life  will  always  have  its  charms  to  allure  the  dar- 
ing spirit  on. 

Peter  and  I  remained  a  short  time  on  the  ship  in  or- 
der to  earn  enough  to  pay  a  couple  of  weeks'  board  in 
8 


50      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

advance.  Liverpool  was  so  overcrowded  w^ith  sailors, 
and  the  times  were  so  hard,  that  crews  could  be  obtained 
for  American  ships  for  the  privilege  of  working  their 
passage  home.  Philanthropists  hired  houses,  covered 
the  floors  with  straw,  and  dealt  out  coffee  and  rolls  to 
the  destitute  sailors  who  had  been  turned  out  of  their 
boarding-houses.  In  one  of  these  boarding-houses  Peter 
and  I  were  made  welcome  on  paying  a  week  in  advance. 
With  the  money  left  Peter  showed  me  something  of 
the  town.  Of  all  the  seaports  I  subsequently  visited,  I 
found  none  so  fllthy  and  degrading.  Drunkenness  was 
almost  universal.  The  saloons  were  supposed  to  be 
shut  at  midnight,  and  on  Sundays  during  church  hours. 
When  God's  temple  on  earth  was  closed,  the  devil 
opened  his  gin  palaces. 

Ten  days  passed,  when  we  were  invited  to  give  up 
our  room.  Everything  except  what  we  had  on  had  been 
put  out  on  loan ;  in  fact,  we  were  so  hard-up  that  we 
were  glad  to  get  a  chance  to  work  our  passage  home  on 
the  ship  Balance,  of  Bristol,  R.  I.  She  was  lying  in  the 
Waterloo  Dock,  loaded  with  salt  in  bulk,  and  leaking  like 
a  sieve. 

As  we  were  hauling  through  the  gates  the  ship  Pow- 
hatan lay  at  the  pier-head,  waiting  to  haul  in.  On  her 
forecastle  we  recognized  two  of  our  shipmates,  who  had 
served  their  time  on  board  the  cutter,  from  which  they 
went  directly  on  board  tlie  Powhatan.  They  had  re- 
ceived eighty  dollars  each  by  the  run,  and,  as  they  avoid- 
ed Mobile,  they  arrived  here  flush  with  money.  Of 
course  they  would  not  let  us  go  to  sea  in  such  a  leak}'- 
hulk  while  they  had  "  a  shot  in  the  locker."     We  helped 


DEAD  broke!  51 

them  to  heave  into  the  dock,  and.  we  also  helped  them 
to  squander  their  dollars.  Jack  never  thinks  while  the 
money  is  going,  but  he  always  begins  to  moralize  when 
he  is  hard-up.  He  walks  the  streets,  looks  in  at  the 
shop-windows,  and  resolves  that  when  he  comes  ashore 
again  he  will  buy  this,  that,  and  the  other  thing.  These 
good  intentions  are  quite  forgotten  when  he  does  land 
again,  and  is  cheated  and  robbed  the  same  as  before. 
Thus,  he  is  a  slave  for  life  unless  he  has  the  moral 
strength  to  shake  off  the  fetters  which  chain  him  to  the 
bottle. 

Dead  broke!  Peter  and  I  now  had  lodgings  in  the 
"  Straw  house,"  from  which  we  sallied  forth  daily  to  look 
for  a  ship.  We  finally  made  up  our  minds  to  enter  the 
navy  and  ship  on  board  the  British  frigate  Vernon. 
With  this  intention  we  were  wandering  through  the 
Princess  Dock,  when  the  Emily  attracted  our  attention. 
She  was  battening  down  hatches  and  taking  in  stores, 
getting  ready,  evidently,  for  sea.  She  was  a  trim  little 
craft,  built  for  the  Pernambuco  trade,  one  hundred  and 
ninety-eight  tons  register,  .and  owned  in  Liverpool  by 
Fielding  Brothers,  the  owners  of  the  first  iron-built  ship, 
which  was  named  the  Ironsides.  The  captain  was  on 
the  quarter-deck.  Peter  approached  him  'and  asked, 
"  Do  you  want  two  men  f 

"  You  don't  call  that  boy  a  man,  do  youf ' 

"  1^0,  sir ;  but  he  is  a  good  fellow,  and  I  can  make  up 
any  deficiency  in  his  weight." 

"  That  won't  do ;  I  will  take  you,  but  I  don't  want 
him.  I  have  eight  apprentice  boys  already,  and  that  is 
enough  small-fry  on  one  ship." 


53      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

However,  tlie  captain  had  taken  a  fancy  to  Peter. 
He  knew  liim  at  once  by  his  dialect  as  a  Guernseyman, 
and  finding  further  that  he  knew  some  of  Peter's  rela- 
tions, he  took  him,  and  agreed  to  take  me  also,  as  Peter 
would  not  ship  without  me.  I  was  to  be  cook  at  thirty 
shillings  a  month.  The  apprentice  who  had  filled  that 
berth  was  to  go  into  the  forecastle. 

We  hauled  into  the  river  at  high  water,  and  at  mid- 
night anchored.  As  no  fires  were  allowed  to  be  made, 
and  no  cooking  done  in  the  dock,  it  was  not  discovered 
that  I  was  not  a  professional  cook  until  too  late  to  send 
me  ashore.  "We  were  to  leave  at  daylight,  and  I  took 
my  chances  in  the  matter  of  the  captain's  anger.  Un- 
fortunately for  me,  the  steward  was  a  greenhorn,  just 
out  of  the  army,  who  knew  less  about  cooking  than  I 
did.  He  had  thought  he  could  depend  upon  the  cook 
for  his  information,  and  the  poor  fellow  also  believed 
that  because  he  made  a  good  servant  for  an  army  officer 
he  was  capable  of  acting  as  steward  on  shipboard.  He 
had  been  hard-up,  like  ourselves,  and  wanted  to  get  away, 
and  seeing  a  sign  on  the  ship's  rigging  which  read, 
""  Enuly,  first  ship  for  Galveston,  America,"  he  offered 
himself  as  steward,  and  was  accepted.  He  paid  dear 
enough  for  his  assurance — of  which  he  had  plenty,  being 
an  Irishman. 

It  was  a  raw,  foggy,  miserable  morning  in  November. 
Only  those  who  have  been  in  Liverpool  at  this  season 
can  comprehend  its  discomforts,  which  has  given  to 
November,  indeed,  the  name  of  the  "  suicides'  month." 
Breakfast  was  to  be  ready  at  seven  o'clock  for  a  crew  of 
three  men  arid  eie^ht  boys  before  the  mast*     The  British 


BRITISH  LAWS   RELATING  TO   SHIPS'  CREWS. 


53 


laws  made  it  compulsory  that  ships  should  be  manned 
with  two  seamen  and  one  apprentice  for  every  hundred 
tons  of  her  registered  tonnage.  It  will  thus  be  seen  how 
England  made  her  sailors.  This  law  was  not  changed 
until  about  1856,  when  the  supply  far  exceeded  the  de- 
mand.    We  had  a  large  crew,  there  being  five  boys  more 


PORT   OP   LIVERPOOL. 


than  the  law  called  for.  Sky-blue  (boiled  barley),  hard- 
tack,  and  tea  sweetened  with  treacle  was  Jack's  fare  for 
the  morning  meal.  The  cabin  table  was  to  be  supplied 
with  beefsteak,  fried  potatoes,  and  oatmeal  (or  stir- 
about). The  steward  was  at  his  wits'  end  w^hen  I  told 
liim  he  would  have  to  cook  the  cabin  breakfast,  as  I 


54  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

would  spoil  it.  Six  bells  had  struck,  and  all  hands  were 
ordered  to  breakfast.  They  had  been  rigging  out  the 
jib-boom,  squaring  the  yards,  and  getting  ready  for  sea 
generally.  ^'  Eed  Bill,"  as  he  was  nicknamed,  had  been 
snuffing  around  the  galley  all  the  morning,  and  had  cau- 
tioned me,  not  in  a  very  polite  tone  of  voice,  that  if  I 
burned  the  barley  I  should  get  "  cobbed."  That  was  a 
punishment  meted  out  in  those  days  to  the  cook  when 
he  spoiled  a  meal.  The  process  was  to  tie  him  to  the 
windlass  and  administer  a  dozen  or  more  blows  with 
the  flat  side  of  the  carpenter's  handsaw  upon  his  bare 
flesh.  This  was  fun  for  the  crew,  but  liai'd  on  the  cook. 
Yery  few  captains  forbade  this  punishment,  as  it  stimu- 
lated the  cook  to  do  his  best. 

My  time  had  come.  Bill  brought  the  kid  to  the  gal- 
ley, and  I  turned  the  pot  of  barley  over  into  it.  The 
barley  ran  half  raw  out  of  the  centre,  while  the  sides 
were  burned  fast  to  the  pot.  Barley  is  very  hard  to 
cook,  especially  if  the  fire  is  strong  and  one  has  never 
cooked  it  before.  I  ran  my  knife  around  the  sid^s  to 
free  it  from  the  pot,  when  the  barley  dropped  into  the 
pot  with  a  flop,  looking  like  a  man's  hat  that  had  been 
singed.  Bill  called  down  the  forecastle,  inviting  all 
hands  to  a  "cobbing"  entertainment,  and  proceeded  to 
run  a  line  through  the  windlass,  to  which  the  crew  were 
to  bouse  me  while  he  undertook  to  fasten  a  bowline 
around  me.  But  I  had  some  objections  to  this  treat- 
ment that  neither  Bill  nor  the  rest  dreamed  of  till  Bill 
found  himself  in  the  lee  scuppers.  Peter  was  at  my 
side  in  a  moment,  saying, "  Take  your  time,  boys,  you 
can  all  have  a  chance.     One  at  a  time ;  he  will  accom- 


A  -'cobbing"  entertainment   interrupted.        55 

modate  you  all."  The  row  brought  the  chief  mate,  Mr. 
Crawford,  forward ;  but  Peter  asked  him  to  keep  his 
hands  olf  and  let  us  fight  it  out.  I  was  at  the  third  boj 
w^hen  Captain  Gillette  came  upon  the  scene  and  stopped 
the  fight.  I  had  had  a  pretty  lively  time  for  a  little 
while.  Boxing  had  been  taught  me  by  Jim  Sweeney  in 
the  Mobile  jail,  and  I  had  fairly  perfected  myself  in  the 
manly  art  on  board  the  cutter.  Peter  always  wanted 
me  to  show  off,  and  here  had  been  a  chance.  The  re- 
sult was  that  Bill,  who  had  been  the  cook  on  the  previ- 
ous voyage,  was  ordered  to  take  charge  of  the  galley 
again,  while  I  was  sent  forward.  Peter  told  the  captain 
that  I  was  a  better  sailor  than  cook,  and  that  only  our 
anxiety  to  get  out  of  Liverpool  made  me  ship  as  cook. 
The  captain  was  delighted  with  my  pluck  when  I  asked, 

"  Will  you  please  let  us  finish  the  fight  while  we  are 
at  it  ?  Some  of  the  boys  may  think  that  they  can  whip 
me  if  they  got  a  chance." 

"  Go  forward,  young  rascal ;  I  will  have  no  more 
fighting,"  he  replied. 

We  had  a  fine  run  before  the  north-east  trades,  but 
when  nearing  the  passage  between  the  islands  of  Mar- 
tinique and  Antigua,  before  entering  the  Caribbean  Sea, 
the  weather  became  squally.  All  light  sails  were  furled, 
the  mizzen- top -gallant  sail  was  clewed  up,  and  a  boy 
and  I  went  up  to  furl  it.  Sailor-like,  I  scanned  the  ho- 
rizon for  a  sail,  and  discovered  one  on  the  starboard 
quarter,  and  reported  it. 


56      FKOM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

Threatened  by  a  Pirate. — I  listen  to  Peter's  wicked  Advice. — My 
Clium  tells  me  a  Tale  to  make  my  Hair  stand  on  End,  and  pro- 
poses a  Scheme  that  causes  my  Knees  to  knock  together. — The 
Pirate  quits  us  on  Sighting  a  Dutch  West  Indiaman. — The  Fate 
of  the  Crown  Prince  William.— 1  lose  Peter,  and  go  on  a  Cruise  in 
the  Frigate  Houston  of  the  Texas  Navy.— Our  Lieutenant  Snubs  a 
British  Consul. — I  select  a  new  Chum. — We  meet  the  Pirate  that 
threatened  the  Emily  and  Fire  a  Broadside  at  her. — Yellow- Jack 
comes  Aboard. — I  go  to  New  Orleans  with  a  Prize.— Colonel  Billy 
Wilson  becomes  my  Friend. — I  try  the  Mimic  Stage  for  a  while.— 
My  Chum  Jack  joins  me. — We  are  "Shanghaied"  aboard  a  Liv- 
erpool Ship,  of  which  we  take  French  Leave.  —  I  make  a  Visit 
Home. 

The  vessel  came  down  on  us  like  a  meteor.  Before  we 
got  on  deck  she  was  close  aboard  on  our  starboard  beam. 
Peter  told  me  to  look  at  her  carefully.  Slie  was  a  two- 
top-sail  schooner ;  that  is,  she  had  a  square  fore  and  main 
top-sail,  with  top-gallant  sails  over.  When  these  square 
sails  were  furled,  the  yards  on  deck,  and  the  masts 
housed,  the  fore  and  aft  sails  would  equal  single  reefs. 
This  rig  is  now  obsolete ;  though,  if  I  were  going  to 
build  a  large  sailing-yacht,  I  would  rig  her  in  this  way. 
She  would  be  the  most  rakish  and  saucy-looking  craft 
afloat.  The  stranger  had  a  long  swivel  amidships,  and 
a  smaller  one  mounted  forward  of  the  foremast.  She 
was  painted  black,  had  a  flush  deck,  and  four  quarter 
boats.     No  flag  was  flying.     We  were  hailed  in  good 


STRUCK   BY  A  SQUALL.  57 

EiJglish,  though  he  who  hailed  us  looked  like  a  Span- 
iard. 

''  What  ship  is  that  ?"  he  asked.  "  Where  are  you 
from,  aud  where  are  you  bound  ?" 

We  replied  to  all  these  interrogations.  Our  captain 
was  too  much  astonished  at  her  extraordinary  speed  and 
appearance  to  ask  any  questions.  There  was  no  name 
on  her  stern,  and  only  three  men  were  to  be  seen  on 
deck.  Captain  Gillette  asked  the  mate  what  he  made 
her  out.  He  replied  that  she  was  a  mystery,  and  that 
he  did  not  like  her  looks,  as  she  appeared  like  neither  a 
war-ship  nor  a  merchant-man. 

At  ten  o'clock  the  wind  moderated  enough  to  let  us 
set  all  light  sails,  including  the  starboard  studding-sails. 
At  noon  we  sighted  the  mysterious  stranger  again  right 
ahead.  At  1  p.m.  a  heavy  squall  was  coming  down  on 
us.  Then  we  took  in  the  studding-sails  and  royals. 
The  main  top-gallant  studding-sail  fouled  over  the  brace- 
block,  and  I  went  aloft  to  clear  it.  While  I  was  on  the 
yard  the  squall  struck  us  with  terrific  force.  Every- 
thing had  to  be  let  go  by  the  run  to  save  the  masts. 
The  studding-sail  blew  to  ribbons  in  my  hands.  The 
top-sail  halyards  had  been  let  go,  and  down  I  went  with 
the  yard.  I  had  secured  myself  on  the  foot-rope  near 
the  brace-block.  This  I  did  to  save  myself  from  being 
knocked  off  by  the  slapping  of  the  top -gallant  sheet. 
It  was  marvellous  that  I  was  not  thrown  from  the  yard 
when  it  came  down  on  the  cap.  The  squall  was  soon 
over,  but  it  took  the  rest  of  the  day  to  repair  the  split 
Bails. 

About  four  o'clock  the  stranger  hove-to  till  we  passed 
3^ 


58      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

lier,  when  she  trimmed  her  canvas,  and  was  along-side 
again  like  magic. 

"  What  does  your  cargo  consist  of  ?"  he  asked. 

"  Coal,  salt,  crates,  and  iron,"  we  replied. 

She  starboarded  her  helm  and  hauled  to  the  south- 
ward, but  before  dark  was  ahead  of  us  again.  By  this 
time  all  hands  showed  uneasiness,  but  said  nothing. 
Supper  was  announced,  but  no  one  had  any  appetite. 
"We  all  sat  on  the  forecastle,  straining  our  eyes  into  the 
darkness  to  see  if  we  could  discern  the  schooner.  The 
captain  came  forward  at  eleven  o'clock  to  join  the  mate, 
who  had  been  sitting  forward  among  us  all  tlie  evening. 

"  Mr.  Crawford,"  he  said,  "  let  us  trim  the  yards  and 
haul  up  four  points  to  the  southward.  I  don't  like  that 
craft.  She  was  right  ahead  when  last  seen.  We  had 
better  give  her  the  slip  during  the  night." 

Peter  now  joined  in  and  said,  "If  you  don't  want 
them  to  board  us,  we  had  better  keep  our  course.  They 
have  their  eye  on  us,  and  if  we  attempt  to  avoid  them 
they  may  suppose  we  are  not  bound  for  Galveston,  and 
that  our  cargo  is  not  of  such  small  value  as  we  told 
them.  Once  on  board  of  us  they  will  show  their  true 
character,  and  before  dayliglit  we  shall  all  have  walked 
the  plank,  and  the  Emily  will  be  sunk  five  thousand 
fathoms  deep.  ]^one  of  us  will  be  left  to  tell  the  tale. 
I  have  been  on  these  waters  before,  Captain  Gillette,  and 
know  these  crafts  and  what  I  am  talking  about.'' 

Peter's  words  were  ominous.  They  sent  a  thrill  of 
horror  through  us  all.  They  sounded  like  the  deatli 
sentence  pronounced  by  a  judge  in  deep,  solemn  tones 
to  a  prisoner  whose  hours  are  numbered. 


PETEK's   narrative.  59 

The  course  was  not  changed.  Silence  pervaded  the 
whole  crew.  The  night  was  very  dark.  Suddenly  Pe- 
ter nudged  me,  and  motioned  me  to  follow  him  aft. 
When  abreast  of  the  gangway  he  whispered  in  my  ear, 

^*  Boy,  be  a  man.  Don't  tremble  so.  Your  teeth 
chatter  as  if  you  had  the  ague.  Slip  down  below  and 
bring  up  a  pannikin  of  rum ;  you  know  where  it  is 
stowed.  You  need  courage  to  carry  out  what  you  will 
have  to  undertake  before  sunrise.  By  that  time  there 
will  be  no  more  of  the  Emily  or  her  crew,  except  you 
and  me.     Get  the  rum  and  then  hear  the  rest." 

I  groped  my  way  down  the  after-hatch  and  into  the 
store-room,  and  got  the  rum.  1  begged  him  not  to  take  too 
much,  as  I  knew  his  desperate  character  when  in  liquor. 

"Don't  fear,"  he  said.  "I  never  take  too  much  in 
serious  times.  Now  drink  a  little  yourself ;  it  will  brace 
you  up.  Put  the  cup  where  we  can  get  it  again,  and 
let  us  walk  the  deck  where  we  can  be  seen  but  not 
heard.  Much  of  my  life  you  have  heard  me  relate, 
from  boyhood  to  manhood.  The  rest  you  shall  hear 
now.  My  first  criminal  act,  when  I  was  a  mere  child, 
led  on  by  others,  landed  me  and  them  in  the  galleys, 
whence  we  escaped  after  murdering  the  guards.  All 
except  me  were  taken  and  guillotined.  I  was  too  small 
to  have  a  hand  in  the  murder.  At  the  trial  my  plea  of 
ignorance  of  any  evil  intent  saved  me  from  the  extreme 
penalty  of  the  law,  but  I  was  sent  on  board  a  French 
man-of-war,  from  which  I  escaped  after  many  years  of 
service.  Then  I  found  myself  in  the  Spanish  navy,  and 
after  the  battle  of  Trafalgar  I  shipped  in  a  slaver. 

"  We  were  on  our  way  from  the  Congo,  bound  to  San 


60      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

Domingo,  witli  four  hundred  slaves  stowed  in  the  hold. 
The  prospects  were  good  for  a  profitable  voyage.  When 
we  were  off  Porto  Rico  a  schooner,  just  like  the  one 
you  have  seen  this  morning,  came  up  and  hailed  us.  It 
was  just  getting  dark,  and  she  passed  ahead.  When  the 
next  day  was  breaking  she  hailed  us  to  heave -to,  and 
brought  her  guns  to  bear.  In  a  moment  we  were  grap- 
pled and  boarded.  Part  of  our  crew  at  once  attacked 
our  officers,  and,  with  the  pirates  who  had  boarded  us, 
made  short  work  of  those  who  showed  any  resistance. 
We  who  had  done  this  were  allowed  to  join  the  pirate 
crew,  as  we  had  proved  ourselves  worthy  of  them.  If 
we  had  acted  otherwise  we  would  have  been  slain  also. 

"An  officer  with  a  prize  crew  took  charge  of  our 
schooner,  after  we  had  been  sent  aboard  the  pirate,  and 
took  the  slaver  into  Havana,  where  she  and  her  cargo 
w^ere  sold.  I  stayed  with  the  pirates  three  years,  but 
their  life  did  not  suit  me,  and  I  made  my  escape  during 
a  battle  with  two  English  ships-of-war  which  had  dis- 
covered our  stronghold  in  the  Bay  of  San  Lorenzo.* 

*  The  Bay  of  San  Lorenzo  is  one  of  many  bays  opening  into  the 
great  Bay  of  Samana.  Tliis  vast  sheet  of  water,  with  its  many  high 
headlands,  behind  which  ships  can  lie  hidden  from  observation,  was 
the  chosen  spot  of  the  buccaneer.  The  enormous  caverns  hereabout 
afford  great  interest  to  the  naturalist.  He  finds  here  some  of  Dame 
Nature's  most  beautiful  and  grotesque  handiwork.  The  entrances 
to  these  caverns  are  so  hidden  tliat  one  would  suppose  the  devil  had 
selected  this  place  as  a  fit  rendezvous  for  his  crews  of  the  ocean. 
The  peninsula  on  the  south-east  end  of  San  Domingo  on  which  these 
strongholds  are  situated  divides  the  great  bay  from  the  Caribbean 
Sea,  and  commands  the  Mona  passage  leading  into  it.  From  its 
points  the  pirates  watched  their  prey,  or  prepared  for  battle  with  war- 
ships, which  did  not  always  leave  as  victors. 


IN  SUSPENSE.  61 

"Now,  boy,"  Peter  continued,  "to  save  ourselves  we 
must  join  these  pirates  who  will  board  us  about  day- 
break. You  take  your  position  behind  Mr.  Crawford, 
and  as  soon  as  they  board,  strike  him  with  this  knife 
between  the  shoulders." 

At  these  instructions  my  knees  began  to  give  way. 
Peter  seized  me,  or  I  should  have  fallen.  The  story  he 
told  me  was  all  very  well  until  it  became  my  turn  to  be 
an  actor.  But  a  nip  of  rum,  administered  by  him,  set 
me  all  right.  He  said  it  would  be  better  to  kill  the  mate 
than  to  be  killed  myself,  and  our  crew  would  all  be 
slaughtered  anyway.  He  called  it  justifiable  self-de- 
fence, and  said  that  after  w^e  had  joined  the  pirates  he 
would  find  a  way  for  us  to  escape.  He  so  worked  on 
my  imagination  that  I  really  felt  I  was  going  to  do  an 
excusable  deed.  The  knife  he  gave  me  was  his  favorite 
one;  it  had  a  very  long  blade  incased  in  a  wooden 
sheath  instead  of  the  leather  usually  used  for  sheath- 
knives.  I  agreed  to  do  as  he  bade  me,  and  took^my 
place  behind  the  mate.  Peter  took  his  place  near  the 
captain.  It  had  just  struck  seven  bell^.  There  had 
been  scarcely  a  word  spoken  forward  during  the  night. 
The  sound  of  the  bells  fell  upon  me  like  a  funeral  knell. 
Tears  began  to  run  down  my  cheeks.  Mr.  Crawford 
had  always  been  good  to  me ;  why  should  I  kill  him  ? 
Everybody  had  treated  me  well  on  board.  I  thought  of 
home,  and  the  plans  I  had  laid  for  the  future :  now  my 
aspirations  and  hopes  would  all  be  ruined  in  the  next 
half -hour.  A  horror  of  the  situation  seized  me.  I 
slipped  off  the  bitts  upon  which  I  had  been  sitting,  and 
walked  aft.     Peter  followed  me,     He  said, 


62  FKOM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE    CABIN. 

"You  had  better  take  a  little  more  rum.  I  don't 
think  the  cook  will  serve  us  with  coffee  this  morning. 
It  is  chilly  for  you  after  the  long  night's  watch.  I  see 
that  you  have  a  slight  attack  of  ague." 

"]^o,  Peter,  I  don't  want  to  drink;  I  am  not  cold. 
But  I  would  rather  be  killed  than  commit  murder  in 
such  cold  blood." 

But  his  pleadings,  his  love  for  me,  and  the  review 
of  our  friendship  had  their  effect.  The  demon  that  se- 
duced our  great  mother  was  wdiispering  in  my  ear.  I 
again  did  as  he  told  me,  and  stationed  myself  behind  the 
mate. 

The  silence  was  broken  by  the  captain  saying  he 
wished  it  was  daylight. 

"It  will  be  here  soon  enough,"  I  heard  Peter  say. 
"  I  see  it  breaking  in  the  east,  and  before  the  sun  is  up 
all  will  be  over." 

The  day  was  indeed  breaking,  and  night  was  furling 
her  black  flag.  The  light  mounted  slowly  towards  the 
zenith,  and  as  our  eyes  were  strained  to  catch  a  glimpse 
of  the  mysterious  craft,  we  saw  her  shoot  out  of  the 
darkness,  heading  across  our  bow  to  the  northward.  We 
looked  in  that  direction  and  saw  a  large  West  India- 
merchant-man  about  four  miles  on  our  starboard  beam. 
She  was  running  before  the  wind,  with  studding-sails  set 
on  both  sides,  and  was  evidently  Dutch  from  her  build. 

"  She  is  doomed,"  Peter  said,  "  and  we  are  safe.  Those 
poor  fellows  will  never  muster  around  the  grog -pail 
again.  Presently  you  will  see  the  schooner  make  her 
heave-to." 

The  words  were  scarcely  spoken  when  we  saw  the 


FATE   OF  THE   SHIP    "  CROWN   PRINCE  WILLIAM."     63 

smoke  from  her  Long  Tom.  The  signal  was  unheeded, 
and  a  sliot  brought  down  her  foremast,  which  took  the 
maintop-mast  with  it.  This  crippled  her  so  that  in  less 
than  an  hour  she  w^as  out  of  sight  astern. 

While  in  Amsterdam,  years  after,  my  curiosity  led  me 
to  ascertain  what  ships  were  lost  during  the  year  in 
which  the  above  incident  occurred,  and  I  learned  that 
the  ship  Crown  Prince  William  from  Rotterdam,  bound 
for  Cura9oa,  w^as  never  heard  from. 

"VVe  felt  ourselves  safe  for  the  time  being,  but  changed 
our  course,  fearing  that  after  she  had  pillaged  and  sunk 
the  ship  she  might  overtake  and  destroy  us,  to  avoid 
being  reported.  We  did  not  consider  ourselves  out  of 
danger  until  w^e  entered  the  harbor  of  Galveston. 

Here  Peter  and  I  intended  to  desert,  but  there  were 
no  vessels  in  port  except  the  Houston^  a  frigate  of  the 
Texas  navy,  commanded  by  Captain  Moore,  Captain 
Gre}^  (late  of  the  Pacific  Mail  Steamship  Company)  be- 
ing her  first-lieutenant,  and  two  rakish-looking  schoon- 
ers. These  were  fitting  out  for  the  coast  of  Africa,  nom- 
inally for  the  slave-trade,  but  perhaps  for  something 
worse.  Large  inducements  were  offered  us  to  join  them, 
but  we  preferred  the  frigate.  At  this  time  Galveston 
w^as  the  refuge  for  outlaws  of  all  nations.  There  were 
not  more  than  twenty  bouses — I  should  say  shanties — 
in  the  place.  The  British  consul's  wife  was  the  only 
white  woman  I  saw  there.  Our  ship  was  said  to  be  the 
first  square-rigged  merchant-ship  that  had  ever  crossed 
the  bar.  After  we  had  been  here  a  week,  an  opportu- 
nity presented  itself  for  our  escape.  A  dark  night  fa- 
vored us,  when  we  brought  up  in  a  vile  den,  whose  pro- 


64  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

prietor,  a  Spaniard,  agreed  to  put  us  on  board  the  frigate 
before  morning.  Liquor  flowed  freely  in  the  mean  time. 
Peter  became  intoxicated  and  quarrelsome,  and  soon 
there  was  a  general  fight,  in  which  knives  were  used 
without  ceremony.  I  was  seized  by  a  negro  woman 
and  hustled  out  of  the  place.  Once  outside,  she  said, 
''  I'se  gwine  to  take  you  whar  you  isn't  gwine  to  hab 
your  froat  cut.  You  was  'mong  pirates,  or  slavers  as 
dey  call  demselves,  who  is  waiting  to  make  up  dair  crew." 

Two  negro  men  joined  us,  and  the  three  put  me  into 
a  small  boat  and  rowed  me  off  to  the  frigate,  on  which  I 
was  glad  to  find  myself.  The  officer  of  the  deck  asked 
me  no  questions,  but  told  me  to  go  below.  The  negroes 
were  recompensed  by  the  officer  for  bringing  me  on 
board.  During  the  night  the  schooners  left  the  harbor. 
"Whether  Peter  was  on  board  one  of  them,  or  had  been 
killed  during  the  fight,  I  could  not  tell.  However,  I 
was  glad  to  part  company  with  him,  for  although  I 
loved  him,  his  dangerous  character  made  me  fear  him. 
When  in  liquor  he  would  rather  fight  than  eat,  and  was 
always  too  ready  with  his  knife. 

At  four  in  the  morning  all  hands  were  piped  on  deck 
to  holy-stone.  This  done,  and  the  decks  being  squill- 
geed,  and  well  dried  with  swabs,  we  were  mustered,  and 
those  who  had  not  regularly  enlisted  did  so  now.  The 
wages  were  ten  dollars  a  month ;  time  of  service,  two 
years.  After  this  we  were  stationed,  then  piped  down 
to  breakfast. 

The  captain  of  the  maintop  was  in  the  mess  to  which 
I  was  assigned.  He  was  a  handsome  English  man-of- 
w^ar's  man,  with  a  long  black  beard  and  mustache,  and 


AN   ENGLISH   CONSUL   SNUBBED.  65 

was  as  straight  as  an  arrow,  suppJe  as  a  whalebone,  and 
every  inch  a  sailor.  During  breakfast  he  plied  me  with 
all  sorts  of  questions,  and  it  was  finally  agreed,  if  Peter 
did  not  turn  up,  that  I  should  be  his  chum. 

At  10  A.M.  the  British  Consul  came  on  board,  and  po- 
litely requested  that  two  of  his  Britannic  Majesty's  sub- 
jects who  had  deserted  from  the  British  ship  Emily  be 
delivered  to  him.  Lieutenant  Grey  replied  that  the  crew 
consisted  of  Texans,  and  when  the  consul  asked  to  have 
the  crew  mustered.  Grey  lost  his  temper,  and  said,  "  Do 
you  mean  to  doubt  my  word  by  asking  the  crew  to  pass 
in  review  before  you  ?  The  right  of  search  is  not  to 
be  tolerated  in  the  Texas  service  any  more  than  in  the 
United  States  navy.  If  you  feel  that  you  have  been 
aggrieved  in  your  visit  on  board,  you  may  report  me  to 
General  Houston.     Good-day,  sir." 

And  Grey  turned  on  his  heel  and  w^alked  aft. 

To  say  that  the  Englishman  was  angry  at  this  recep- 
tion would  be  expressing  it  very  lightly.  His  face 
showed  what  he  felt.  At  6  p.m.  it  was  high  water,  and 
with  the  first  of  the  land  breeze  we  got  under  way  and 
crossed  the  bar.  As  the  Houston  drew  only  twelve  feet 
of  water,  she  had  no  difficulty  in  doing  this.  Our  course 
was  shaped  for  Vera  Cruz.  When  off  this  harbor  we 
hove-to,  to  blockade,  and  occasionally,  just  to  keep  us  in 
exercise,  we  would  exchange  shots  with  the  forts.  With- 
out taking  any  prize,  two  weeks  of  this  became  irksome. 
Then  we  took  a  stretch  down  the  coast  towards  the  Car- 
ibbean. As  we  were  passing  through  the  Yucatan  chan- 
nel, well  over  towards  Cuba,  and  just  before  daylight,  a 
vessel  standing  the  same  way  neared  and  hailed  us.    We 


66      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

were  instantly  beaten  to  quarters  and  ready  for  action. 
It  had  been  my  watch  below,  so  I  had  not  seen  the 
stranger;  but  when  I  did  see  her  she  was  near  enough 
for  me  to  make  her  out  to  be  the  schooner  that,  when  I 
saw  her  last,  was  boarding  the  ship  off  the  Island  of  Do- 
minica. 

"  Jack,"  I  cried  to  my  chum,  who  was  captain  of  the 
gun  I  was  serving,  "  I  know  that  schooner.  That  is  the 
craft  I  told  you  about." 

In  answer  to  their  hail  we  ordered  them  to  back  their 
main-yards.  Both  of  us  were  on  a  wind  heading  to  the 
east-south-east.  To  our  order  they  replied  by  putting 
the  helm  down  and  tacking  to  the  northward.  We  fired 
our  whole  broadside  at  them  without  doing  any  visible 
damage,  then  tacked  after  her. 

The  day  was  dawning,  and  it  was  plain  that  she  had 
the  heels  of  us.  She  was  directly  ahead.  Shots  from 
our  bow  swivel  fell  short  of  her.  She  luffed  into  the 
wind  as  though  tacking,  but  instead  she  fired  her  Long 
Tom  with  such  effect  that  it  took  our  jib-boom  out  of 
us;  then  she  filled  away  and  left  us  very  rapidly.  It 
took  but  a  short  time  to  rig  out  another  boom  and  set 
the  jib,  but  by  this  time  she  appeared  like  a  speck  on 
the  horizon.  We  stood  close  in  under  Cuba  before  we 
tacked,  and  saw  no  more  of  her.  I  believe  that  Moore 
would  have  given  his  right  hand  to  have  captured  her. 

We  cruised  off  the  coast  of  Mexico  nearly  four  months, 
when  the  yellow-fever  broke  out  on  board,  and  in  a 
short  time  became  epidemic.  From  three  to  four  deaths 
occurred  daily.  Finally  the  disease  made  such  ravages 
that  we  were  compelled  to  run  for  Galveston.     We  an- 


I   GO   TO  NEW   ORLEANS  IN  A   PRIZE.  69 

cliored  off  the  bar,  as  we  were  not  allowed  to  go  np  to 
the  city.  A  small  coasting  schooner  had  been  captured 
a  few  days  previous,  and  the  third-lieutenant,  six  men, 
and  myself  were  put  on  board  the  prize  to  take  her  in. 
It  was  a  lucky  escape  for  us  to  get  out  of  the  ship  when 
the  dark  angel  held  high  carnival,  gathering  our  poor 
fellows  under  his  wing.  I  saw  as  many  as  fifty  at  a 
time  dying  and  dead.  The  prize  was  to  be  sent  to 
New  Orleans  to  be  sold.  Her  crew,  of  which  I  was  one, 
were  allowed  to  draw  two  months'  pay  from  the  purser, 
but  as  the  treasury  of  the  Republic  of  Texas  was  not 
in  good  credit,  and  as  twenty-five  dollars  paper-money 
equalled  one  silver  dollar,  we  preferred  to  take  land- war- 
rants and  pea-jackets  instead,  as  we  could  trade  them  off 
and  realize  more  than  we  could  for  paper-money.  Af- 
ter two  days  on  shore  we  were  ordered  to  New  Orleans. 
My  friend  the  negress,  before  mentioned,  had  obtained 
permission  from  the  doctor  to  let  my  chum,  who  was 
convalescent  from  the  fever,  stay  at  her  hut,  so  that  she 
might  nurse  him.  I  was  so  grateful  for  her  kindness 
that  I  left  her  all  my  worldly  possessions,  such  as  they 
were,  and  in  return  she  sent  me  off  with  a  pound  of 
navy  plug  and  a  gallon  of  whiskey— whiskey  that  "  Jer- 
sey lightning  "  would  pale  before. 

Off  we  went.  It  took  three  daj^s  to  reach  the  mouth 
of  the  Mississippi,  and  six  more  to  reach  the  city,  as  we 
had  no  money  to  pay  for  a  tow-up.  We  sailed  and 
tracked  her  with  tow-lines  when  the  wind  failed ;  it  was 
one  of  the  toughest  jobs  I  ever  had. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  city  we  deserted.  I  joined 
a  cotton  gang.     The  foreman  was  Billy  Wilson,  after- 


70      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

wards  notorious  as  a  pugilist,  as  alderman  from  the  First 
Ward  in  New  York,  as  keeper  of  an  emigrant  boarding- 
house,  and  finally,  in  the  early  part  of  our  civil  war,  as 
the  organizer  and  commander  of  a  regiment  to  which  it 
was  popularly  believed  no  one  was  eligible  who  had  not 
killed  his  man  or  served  a  term  at  Sing  Sing.  I  was 
three  months  in  New  Orleans  before  Jack  joined  me. 
I  had  promised  to  wait  for  him.  For  amusement  after 
my  day's  work  I  took  to  the  stage,  where  I  was  a  super- 
numerary. I  had  a  great  passion  for  the  theatre.  Mrs.- 
Sefton  was  the  lessee,  and  J.  W.  Wallack,  Jr.,  the  stage- 
manager.  I  became  quite  a  favorite  with  these  nota- 
bles, as  I  could  do  the  hornpipe  and  other  dances,  as 
well  as  take  the  part  of  the  sailor  boy  to  perfection. 
My  love  for  the  sea  almost  gave  way  before  the  fascina- 
tions of  the  ballet,  but  Jack's  head  was  more  level  than 
mine,  and  we  agreed  to  go  to  sea  again. 

We  shipped  on  the  Sultana,  bound  for  New  York. 
We  were  to  go  on  board  that  night  at  eight  o'clock. 
Wages  were  high  for  European  voyages,  but  we  wanted 
to  go  north.  We  each  received  a  half  month's  advance, 
and  that  is  all  we  knew  till  the  next  morning,  when  we 
were  yanked  out  of  our  berths  by  the  mates,  and  found 
ourselves  on  the  ship  Ocmitlgee  going  down  the  river, 
bound  for  Liverpool. 

We  had  been  "shanghaied."  The  shipping -master 
had  received  sixty  dollars  for  each  of  the  crew  carried 
on  board.  Among  these  was  a  dead  man  who  had  died 
of  yellow-fever  that  day.  He  had  been  put  into  the 
berth  behind  me.  The  discovery  was  only  made  when 
the  mate  went  to  haul  him  out.     We  were  ordered  to 


A  SHIPPING-MASTER  SURPRISED.  71 

carry  the  body  on  deck  and  throw  it  overboard,  without 
even  putting  a  stone  to  the  legs.  Jack  and  I  were  so 
horrified  with  this  brutality  that  we  determined  to  make 
our  escape,  even  at  the  risk  of  our  lives,  rather  than  go 
in  this  ship.  During  the  day  there  was  no  chance  for  us, 
as  the  mates  were  around.  Had  we  attempted  to  jump 
overboard  we  should  have  been  shot.  Tliat  afternoon 
in  crossing  the  bar  we  grounded,  and  the  tug  left  us. 
The  mates  themselves  kept  watch  turn  about  during  the 
night  for  fear  of  losing  us.  About  three  o'clock  sleep 
overcame  the  second  mate  while  it  was  his  turn  on,  and 
Jack  and  I  slipped  over  the  bow  by  the  jib-downhaul, 
and  swam  for  a  large  inward-bound  ship  on  the  bar  out- 
side of  us.  At  her  stern  was  a  small  boat  in  which  the 
pilot  had  boarded  her.  We  clambered  into  it  almost 
exhausted  and  pulled  for  a  Spanish  fruiter  which  was 
anchored  and  waiting  for  a  tow-boat.  Climbing  on  board, 
we  begged  for  a  passage  back  to  the  city,  and  the  favor 
was  readily  granted.  When  w^e  reached  the  city  the 
Sultana  had  gone.  Jack  and  I,  together  with  Billy 
Wilson  at  the  head  of  his- gang,  surprised  the  shipping- 
master  and  his  runner  by  appearing  in  his  office  and  de- 
manding the  sixty  dollars  a  head  he  had  received  for 
"shanghaing"  us.  The  crimps  were  convinced  on  look- 
ing at  us  that  they  must  either  pay  or  fight,  and  they 
chose  to  pay. 

After  our  money  was  all  gone — and  it  did  not  take  us 
long  to  spend  it — my  chum  and  I  shipped  for  Philadel- 
phia on  the  ship  Chester.  I  was  anxious  to  see  home 
and  those  left  behind  me.  I  had  not  heard  or  written 
for  three  years.     Time  and  hard  usage  had  changed  me 


72      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

from  the  stripling  into  a  stout  fellow  much  older  in  ap- 
pearance than  my  real  years.  The  voyage  north  was 
without  especial  incident.  My  step-mother  even  kissed 
me.  A  truce  of  three  years  had  wonderfully  softened 
her  towards  me.  Her  son  and  I  shook  hands,  and  the 
differences  of  the  past  were  buried  in  the  tales  I  told  of 
my  adventures.  But  at  the  end  of  two  weeks  I  felt  it 
time  to  vacate.  She  was  tiring  of  me,  as  I  was  draw- 
ing rather  freely  on  her  pin-money,  and  my  father  even 
hinted  that  if  I  wanted  to  stay  ashore  he  wonld  find  me 
employment.  So  my  chum  and  I  shipped  again,  and 
made  several  voyages  together,  or  I  should  say  half-voy- 
ages, as  we  ran  away  in  every  port  we  came  to. 

The  sailor's  roving  disposition  costs  him  dear.  I  have 
known  men  to  quit  first-rate  ships,  leaving  behind  money 
due  them  and  a  good  chest  of  clothes,  for  the  sake  of 
having  a  very  short  spree.  And  they  knew,  too,  that 
after  the  spree  they  would  be  picked  up  and  shipped 
off  without  a  cent  in  their  pockets.  They  never  profit 
by  experience.  But  the  sailor  of  to-day  is  not  the  sailor 
of  the  time  I  write  about.  He  is  not  so  wild,  nor  is  he 
so  good  a  seaman.  Modern  appliances  have  simplified 
his  work.  Jack  used  to  say  to  me,  "My  idea  is  to 
make  a  sailor  of  you.  This  can  only  be  done  by  sailing 
in  many  ships,  and  seeing  how  work  is  carried  on  in 
each ;  by  setting  and  taking  in  sails,  carrying  on  and 
reefing,  handling  yards  and  masts,  setting  up  rigging, 
etc.,  so  that  when  you  get  to  be  an  officer  you  will  know 
something.  Then  the  men  forward  will  respect  and 
obey  yon.  I  shall  be  a  happy  man  when  I  see  you  tread 
the  quarter-deck." 


EXCUSE   FOR   ROVING.  73 

Then  be  would  become  sad,  and  I  would  reply,  "  I 
will  never  go  aft  while  you  remain  forward." 

"  I  must  stay  forward,"  Jack  would  say,  "  as  I  can 
neither  read  nor  write." 

The  poor  fellow  always  felt  this  want.  He  could 
have  been  a  petty  officer,  but  he  preferred  the  inde- 
pendence of  a  man  before  the  mast.  This  was  his  ex- 
cuse for  roving  from  ship  to  ship  until  we  joined  the 
St.  Lawrence.  As  there  was  a  spice  of  danger  attached 
to  going  in  this  vessel,  it  suited  us. 
4 


FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Jack  and  I  start  for  a  Trip  around  the  World  on  Board  the  Haunt- 
ed Ship  St.  Lawrence.— An  Explicable  Ghost.— Father  Neptune 
comes  Aboard  to  Shave  me  at  the  Equator.— The  Island  of  St. 
Paul. — I  join  my  Ship  on  Board  a  Log  at  Sydney.— We  find  an 
Island  full  of  Cannibals,  who  try  hard  to  eat  us. — A  Yankee 
Whaler  who  had  Married  a  Princess. — Persistent  Traders. 

This  unlucky  vessel  was  never  known  to  make  a  suc- 
cessful voyage.  Crews  could  only  be  induced  to  go  on 
board  of  her  by  extra  pay,  and  then  only  the  most  ad- 
venturous would  ship.  On  the  voyage  before  that  on 
which  I  joined  her,  a  murder  had  been  committed.  The 
ghost  of  the  murdered  man  was  said  to  appear  nightly 
at  the  quarter-moons,  in  the  middle  watch,  with  a  sheatli- 
knife  stuck  in  his  throat,  presenting  himself  at  the  star- 
board gangway,  as  thougli  he  had  been  slain  there  and 
tlien  thrown  overboard.  The  St.  Lawrence  was  lying  at 
the  Walnut  Street  wharf,  Philadelphia,  having  been  pur- 
chased in  that  city  from  a  Boston  house  at  a  very  low 
figure  on  account  of  her  unfortunate  reputation.  She 
was  chartered  from  Mr.  Oakford,  now  residing  in  tlie 
City  of  New  York,  by  three  young  Philadelphians, 
Messrs.  Welch,  Mifflin  Lewis,  and  Charles  Willing  (who 
celebrated  his  coming  of  age  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope 
in  1840).  The  love  of  adventure  of  these  three  induced 
them  to  accompany  the  ship  as  supercargoes.  If  they 
are  still  alive  these  gentlemen  will  pardon  me  for  using 


THE   HAUNTED   SHIP    "ST.  LAWRENCE."  75 

their  names,  but  the  incidents  of  this  memorable  voyage 
may  be  interesting  to  their  children. 

Tlie  ship  was  loaded  with  a  general  cargo  for  a  trad- 
ing voyage  around  the  world  under  the  command  of 
Captain  Drinker.  We  left  Philadelphia  in  the  fall  of 
1840.  After  saying  good-by  to  our  friends,  with  many 
forebodings  we  proceeded  down  the  Delaware  in  tow  of 
a  tug.  While  towing  and  preparing  for  sea  w^e  had  a 
taste  of  what  we  might  expect  from  our  chief  officer, 
Mr.  Hennessey,  who  was  noted  for  his  brutality.  When 
the  decks  were  cleared  w^e  were  mustered  aft,  and 
watches  were  chosen.  If  my  memory  serves  me  right, 
we  had  a  crew  of  twelve  able  seamen,  two  ordinaries, 
and  two  boys.  I  was  one  of  the  latter,  and  was  chosen 
on  the  port  watch.  For  the  landsman's  benefit,  I  will 
explain  that  crews  are  divided  into  two  watches,  star- 
board and  port.  The  port  watch  is  commanded  by  the 
chief  officer,  and  the  starboard  by  the  second  officer. 
After  our  first  supper  on  board,  when  we  were  below, 
we  compared  notes  and  swore  to  stand  by  one  another 
to  the  death  in  resisting  cruelty,  and  even  went  so  far  as 
to  swear  to  throw  Mr.  Hennessey  overboard  rather  than 
submit  to  his  abuse.  We  took  the  oath  on  our  sheath- 
knives,  and  the  men,  as  it  proved,  were  quite  capable  of 
carrying  out  that  oath.  How  many  captains  and  mates 
have  been  put  down  as  lost  overboard,  when  in  reality 
a  murder  has  been  perpetrated,  will  probably  never  be 
known. 

Afterwards  we  fell  into  a  conversation  about  the  many 
murders  which  had  been  committed  on  this  ship,  and  all 
sorts  of  marine  horrors.     Of  course  none  of  us  were 


-re      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

afraid  to  face  a  ghost.  When  we  shipped  we  knew  to 
what  we  might  look  forward,  and  we  were  all  anxious 
to  see  a  ghost  and  prove  our  bravery.  Such  boasting  I 
never  heard,  when  a  thump  overhead  caused  us  to  jump 
as  though  a  dynamite  mine  had  been  sprung  under  our 
feet.  TJiis  thump,  we  found  out  afterwards,  was  caused 
by  a  handspike ;  the  jar  from  it  put  the  slush  light  out. 
At  the  moment  of  its  occurrence,  we  heard  also  the  cry, 

"All  hands  on  deck.     Brace  around  the  yards." 

We  obeyed  the  order  in  an  instant.  The  mate  com- 
mended us  for  our  alacrity,  saying,  *'  Boys,  if  you  always 
turn  out  as  quickly  as  this  you  will  save  me  from  hurry- 
ing you  along  with  the  toe  of  my  boot." 

When  we  went  below  again,  of  course  we  said,  and 
tried  to  make  one  another  believe,  that  we  were  not 
afraid,  but  only  went  on  deck  so  quickly  to  obey  orders. 
Nevertheless,  I  never  saw  such  a  scared  lot  of  men  in 
my  life.  I  know  that  I  was  well  frightened,  and  no 
doubt  all  fancied,  as  I  did,  that  the  thump  had  come 
from  the  ghost. 

The  following  morning  at  daylight  we  cast  off  the 
tug,  set  everything  alow  and  aloft,  including  the  port 
studding-sails,  to  a  brisk  northerly  wind.  After  cross- 
ing the  Gulf  Stream  we  doffed  our  winter  clothing  for 
light  summer  rigs.  The  wind  had  now  hauled  into  the 
north-east,  and  the  ship  was  spinning  along  at  the  rate 
of  ten  knots  an  hour.  This  carried  us  fairly  into  the 
north-east  trades. 

The  captain  being  a  pious  man,  we  had  prayers  on 
Sunday.  The  morals  of  the  ship,  as  far  as  he  was  con- 
cerned, were  very  good.     But  that  did  not  prevent  the 


CRUELTY  OF  MR.  HENNESSEY,  THE   MATE.  77 

mate  from  swearing  fiercely  at  us  whenever  the  captain 
w^as  out  of  ear-shot.  We  liad  been  out  sixteen  days,  and 
had  entirely  forgotten  about  tlie  ship's  being  haunted, 
when  one  evening  at  eight  bells,  after  we  had  pumped 
ship,  tightened  home  the  sheets,  and  taken  a  sway  on 
the  halyards,  the  mate,  with  an  oath,  struck  one  of  the 
men  with  a  belaying- pin.  The  man  drew  his  sheath- 
knife,  but  before  he  could  use  it  the  mate  struck  his 
wrist  and  broke  the  arm.  We  were  about  to  attack  the 
mate,  when  the  noise  aroused  the  captain,  who,  with  the 
second  mate,  ran  forward  to  see  w^iat  was  the  matter. 
The  mate  said  to  the  man  he  had  struck,  "  If  you  say 
how  this  was  done,  curse  you,  I  will  murder  you." 

The  captain  was  in  the  midst  of  us  in  a  moment, 
asking  the  mate  what  had  happened.  His  reply  was, 
^'  Nothing,  sir,  except  that  Bill,  in  swaying  on  the  fore- 
topsail  halyards,  fell  off  the  rail  and  broke  his  wrist." 
We,  of  course,  were  silent,  but  we  determined  to  have 
our  revenge.  Bill  had  his  wrist  set  by  the  captain,  and 
stood  his  watch  as  usual,  fully  determined  to  knock  the 
mate  on  the  head  on  some  dark  night  and  drop  him 
overboard.  This  could  easily  be  done,  as  he  usually 
slept  in  his  watch  on  deck  on  the  weather -rail,  sup- 
ported by  the  mizzen- swifter  and  monkey -rail.  (The 
ship  had  a  very  wide  rail,  with  a  high  monkey-rail.) 

As  there  is  nothing  to  do  after  dark  in  running  down 
the  trade-winds  except  to  steer,  all  hands  slept  on  deck, 
pretty  well  tired  out  after  the  hard  day's  drilling  the 
mate  usually  gave  us.  The  ship  was  a  perfect  work- 
house. It  was  continually  scrape,  paint,  tar-her-down, 
and  holy-stone,  and  for  a  change  it  was  holy-stone,  tar- 


78      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

her- down,  paint,  and  scrape;  but  so  far  we  had  been 
fairly  well  fed. 

We  had  been  out  twenty  days.  The  moon  was  at  her 
full.  I  had  just  struck  two  bells  in  the  middle  watch. 
It  was  my  trick  at  the  wheel.  The  wind  had  become 
light,  as  w^e  were  entering  the  doldrums.  I  was  leaning 
against  the  wheel,  building  air-castles  and  rescuing  prin- 
cesses from  enchanted  islands.  I  had  finally  been  made 
an  admiral,  when  I  was  suddenly  startled  by  a  sepulchral 
voice : 

"  How  do  you  head  ?" 

To  describe  my  terror  would  be  impossible.  Every 
hair  seemed  to  stand  on  end.  I  w^as  seized  with  a  cold 
shiver,  and  became  utterly  speechless.  I  tried  to  call 
the  mate,  who  was  asleep  on  the  weather-rail,  but  could 
not  articulate  a  sound.     Then  the  voice  spoke  again. 

The  sound  appeared  to  come  from  over  the  taffrail. 
I  made  one  spring  to  escape  from  it.  Letting  go  the 
wheel,  I  rushed  forward,  pulled  the  mate  off  the  rail, 
and  yelled  at  the  top  of  my  voice, 

"A  ghost!  a  ghost!" 

The  mate  seemed  to  be  stricken  with  the  same  fear 
that  I  had.  The  men  forward,  frightened  out  of  their 
sleep  by  the  cry,  jumped  up,  armed  themselves  with 
whatever  they  could  seize,  and  retreated  as  far  as  they 
could  towards  the  knight-heads.  Kot  a  word  was  spo- 
ken. Suddenly  we  saw  a  white  apparition  come  from 
behind  the  cuddy-house  and  instantly  disappear.  This 
was  enough.  We  had  all  seen  the  ghost.  There  w^as  a 
great  scampering  among  us  as  we  hurried  farther  for- 
ward, some  into  the  head  and  others  out  on  the  bow- 


A   GHOST.  79 

sprit.  'No  one  would  for  a  moment  snjDpose  we  were 
seventeen  as  brave  men  as  could  be  found  on  any  man- 
of-war  in  battle.     This  had  made  cowards  of  us  all. 

It  is  necessary  to  digress  to  describe  the  situation  of 
the  deck-houses.  On  deck  aft,  over  the  cabin  entrance, 
was  a  house  about  eight  by  ten  feet.  The  entrance  was 
aft,  two  windows  being  on  either  side,  and  two  on  the 
fore-end.  In  the  forepart  was  the  pantry,  out  of  which, 
on  either  side,  was  a  passage  leading  to  tlie  cabin  stairs. 
Abaft  this  house  was  the  skylight  over  the  cabin.  Still 
farther  aft  w^as  the  coach-house,  not  seen  on  vessels  of 
the  present  day,  with  its  two  rooms  on  each  side  for  the 
petty  officers  and  the  boatswain.  The  paint  lockers  were 
aft.  The  open  space  was  occupied  by  the  steering-gear, 
binnacle,  etc.  I  am  thus  particular  in  describing  the 
situation  of  these  houses  because  of  the  tragedies  that 
were  enacted  in  them  in  the  latter  part  of  this  voyage 
and  on  the  homeward  trip. 

We  had  not  yet  recovered  from  the  fright,  when  sud- 
denly the  captain  appeared  with  his  passengers  and  af- 
ter-guard. They  were  armed  to  the  teeth,  and  coming 
forward,  demanded  the  meaning  of  this  mutinous  con- 
duct. The  captain's  eye  fell  upon  Mr.  Hennessey,  of 
whom  he  requested  an  explanation. 

"  There  is  no  mutiny,  sir,  but  the  ghost  has  been  seen 
by  the  man  at  the  wheel,"  said  the  mate. 

"  Who  was  the  man  at  the  wheel  ?" 

"  I,  sir,"  I  replied. 

"What  did  you  see?"  ^ 

"  The  ghost." 

"  What  did  it  say  V  "* 


80      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

"  How  do  you  head  ?" 

''  You  were  asleep  at  the  wheel,  you  young  scoundrel !" 

^'  Ko  sir ;  I  heard  it  twice.  The  second  time  I  looked 
aft  and  saw  something  in  white  coming  over  the  taffrail, 
whence  the  sound  appeared  to  come." 

''  Well,  go  on." 

"When  I  ran  forward  and  cried  out  something  —  I 
was  too  scared  to  know  what — Mr.  Hennessey  followed 
me.     That  is  all  I  know." 

"  Where  were-  you,  Mr.  Hennessey  2" 

"Walking  the  quarter-deck,  sir." 

"  Did  you  see  the  ghost  ?" 

"  I  heard  a  voice  and  saw  a  strange  apparition,  which 
was  the  same  that  frightened  the  man  at  the  wheel." 

"  That  is  enough.  I  have  heard  all  I  care  to  hear. 
I  will  now  prove  to  you  that  the  ship  is  not  haunted, 
'and  it  was  I  who  asked  how  she  headed.  You  young 
reprobate  " — addressing  me — "  go  take  the  wheel  again. 
Lay  aft  all  hands,  and  you  shall  hear  the  ghost." 

I  took  the  wheel.  The  crew  came  aft  and  arranged 
themselves  around  the  cabin  door.  Suddenly  a  voice 
was  heard : 

"  How  do  you  head  ?" 

The  sound  seemed  to  go  through  us  like  an  electric 
shock.     The  voice  continued  : 

"  What  are  you  afraid  of,  you  infernal  cowards  ?  I 
am  no  ghost." 

This  remark  was  made  by  Mr.  Willing.  In  the  mean 
time  the  captain  had  come  on  deck  to  witness  the  effect. 

"  You  see,"  said  he,  "  the  ship  is  not  haunted.  Ghosts 
don't  use  such  forcible  language." 


THE   APPEARANCE   OF  THE   GHOST  EXPLAINED.        81 

Captain  Drinker  was  one  of  those  luxurious  East  In- 
dia skippers  who  rarely  come  on  deck  after  ten  o'clock 
at  niglit.  Before  leaving  Philadelphia  he  had  a  speak- 
ing-tube put  in  from  his  berth  to  a  point  directly  over 
the  head  of  the  man  at  the  wheel.  A  speaking-tube 
was  never  seen  or  heard  of  by  a  sailor  before.  He  had 
not  had  occasion  to  use  it  until  the  night  of  which  I  am 
Bpeaking,  when  he  was  awakened  by  the  shaking  of  the 
sails  caused  by  my  castle-building  and  consequent  bad 
steering.  He  no  doubt  was  on  the  alert,  as  we  were 
about  leaving  the  trade -winds.  The  crew  were  too 
sound  asleep  to  hear  anything.  In  fact,  Jack  never  does 
hear,  nor  would  he  come  on  deck  to  save  the  ship  from 
wreck  unless  the  watch  were  called.  He  never  loses  an 
opportunity  to  sleep,  and  some  sailors  can  sleep  with 
their  heads  in  a  bucket  of  water.  Many  have  I  seen 
punished  for  sleepiness  by  being  made  to  ride  the 
spanker-boom. 

The  captain,  hearing  the  sails  shake,  brought  the 
speaking-tube  into  requisition.  He  asked  twice  how 
she  headed,  and  then  heard  us  all  run  forward  yelling. 
Not  understanding  the  cause  of  the  noise,  he  supposed 
we  had  attacked  the  mate,  and  rushed  on  deck  in  his 
light  silk  pajamas,  emerging  from  the  after-part  of  the 
house.  Seeing  us  all  huddled  forward,  his  first  impres- 
sion that  there  was  a  mutiny  on  board  was  confirmed 
in  his  mind,  and  awakening  his  passengers,  he  armed 
them  hastily,  and  they  all  came  forward  as  described. 

We  were  not  assured,  however,  by  this  oral  and  ocu- 
lar demonstration  of  the  captain,  that  the  ship  was  not 
haunted. 
4* 


82      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

We  had  long  since  passed  the  Cape  Yerd  Islands 
and  lost  the  trade  -  winds ;  and  after  box -hauling  and 
bracing  aronnd  the  yards  in  order  to  work  south  of  the 
doldrums,  we  finally  passed  the  equator,  which  I  had 
never  before  crossed.  I  was  the  only  one  before  the 
mast  who  had  never  crossed  it ;  therefore,  in  order  to 
make  me  a  true  salt,  IS^eptune  came  on  board  and  shaved 
me. 

On.  a  bright  equatorial  morning  we  had  fairly  entered 
the  south-east  trades,  with  decks  holy-stoned,  squillgeed, 
and  swabbed.  All  hands  were  ordered  to  breakfast. 
Afterwards  they  were  turned  to  with  the  exception  of 
myself,  and  I  was  ordered  to  prepare  for  being  shaved. 
At  six  bells  my  chum,  Jack,  came  down  to  take  me  on 
deck,  saying, 

"  Neptune  has  just  come  over  the  bow  to  search  the 
ship  for  any  one  who  dares  to  cross  his  dominions  with- 
out being  properly  initiated  by  being  shaved  by  the 
'King  of  the  Seas,'  and  thereby  becoming  one  of  his 
subjects — a  true  child  of  the  ocean,  with  all  the  privi- 
leges thereto  belonging." 

I  was  blindfolded,  led  on  deck,  and  seated  in  a  chair, 
to  which  I  was  firmly  bound.  My  chum  had  told  me 
to  show  my  courage  by  not  making  an  oiitcry,  but  to 
*'grin  and  bear"  whatever  might  happen.  My  shirt 
had  been  stripped  off,  and  a  voice  through  a  speaking- 
trumpet  asked  if  I  was  prepared  to  be  made  a  true  salt. 
I  replied  that  I  was.  The  trumpet  again  spoke,  saying, 
"  Apply  the  brush !" 

The  brush  was  a  common  paint-brush  dipped  into  a 
tar-bucket.     The  sun  was  very  hot,  so  the  tar,  of  course, 


I   AM   INITIATED   ON   CROSSING   THE   LINE.  83 

was  thin.  I  received  the  coat  over  my  face,  neck,  and 
Bhoulders.  After  this  the  razor  was  produced  and  the 
ahaving  process  began.  This  razor  was  a  piece  of  hoop, 
rounded  smootli  on  the  edge.  The  bandage  was  re- 
moved from  my  eyes,  and  before  me  stood  Neptune, 
dressed  in  long  white  flowing  robes  girdled  at  the  waist. 
His  gray  hair  and  beard  hung  below  his  shoulders,  and 
scarcely  anything  could  be  seen  of  his  face  except  his 
eyes  and  nose.  In  his  right  hand  was  a  trident,  in  his 
left  a  trumpet.  While  the  shaving  process  was  being 
completed — that  is,  while  the  tar  was  being  scraped  off 
and  fat  out  of  the  slush-tub  applied  to  the  parts  tarred, 
and  then  wiped  off  with  oakum — I  found  that  I  had 
been  made  a  butt  for  the  amusement  of  the  sliip's  com- 
pany. The  captain,  with  the  after-guard,  had  come  for- 
ward to  do  homage  to  the  King  of  the  Ocean.  The  sail- 
ors formed  a  background  for  Neptune,  who  addressed 
me  thus : 

"  You  have  now  a  right  to  become  an  able  seaman, 
boatswain,  and  so  upward  to  captain,  if  you  are  not  killed 
or  drowned.  In  the  latter  event  you  will  be  turned  into 
a  sea-horse,  and  be  forever  my  subject.  You  may  now 
eat  salt  pork,  salt  horse,  mush,  and  weevilly  bread,  with- 
out grumbling.     I  will  now  depart." 

Through  his  trumpet  he  called  his  chariot  to  come 
under  the  bow.  I  was  then  blindfolded,  and  not  allowed 
to  see  his  departure.  At  eight  bells  we  went  below  to 
dinner.  It  being  Saturday,  we  got  a  half- holiday  for 
a  sort  of  jollification  and  a  general  wash-up.  To  each 
watch  was  allowed  a  bottle  of  gin,  kindly  furnished 
by  Mr.  Willing,  and  at  four  o'clock  that  afternoon  all 


84      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

hands  were  called  to  skylark.  We  climbed  up  lee- 
leaches  and  luffs  of  sails,  went  up  backstays  hand  over 
hand,  and  down  fore  and  aft  stays.  We  went  hand  over 
hand  up  the  ratlines,  turned  under  a  belaying  pin,  walked 
on  a  slack  rope  and  on  a  tight  rope,  and  marked  dis- 
tances with  the  arm  thrust  forward  under  the  leg.  We 
performed  the  difficult  feat  of  throwing  ourselves  down 
at  full  length,  supported  by  one  hand,  marking  with  the 
other,  and  springing  backward  with  the  aid  of  the  hand 
by  which  we  were  supported.  We  had  sack  races,  the 
prize  being  a  glass  of  grog,  and  a  greased  studding-sail 
yard  was  set  upright,  with  a  bottle  of  gin  on  top  for 
any  one  who  could  get  it.  A  ship's  company  in  those 
days  would  have  been  a  prize  to  Barnum's  circus.  The 
amusements  wound  up  at  seven  o'clock,  when  we  were 
mustered  aft  and  received  each  a  good  stiff  horn,  which 
was  no  six -water  grog.  Such  was  he  day  in  former 
times  when  a  novice  crossed  the  equator — times  when 
sailing-vessels  rivalled  the  albatross  in  speed  and  beauty, 
and  steam-kettle  sailors  were  not  known. 

We  weathered  Cape  St.  Eoque  well  to  the  eastward, 
and  stood  to  the  southward  until  the  south-east  trades 
changed  to  south-west.  We  then  stood  over  towards 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  where  we  arrived  the  day  after 
Christmas,  which  we  had  celebrated  with  a  grand  plum- 
pudding  dinner.  Our  arrival  at  the  cape  was  a  great 
event  to  the  inhabitants,  to  whom  we  sold  such  Yankee 
notions  as  were  suitable  to  their  wants.  Then  we  shaped 
our  course  for  Sydney,  New  South  Wales.  At  nine 
o'clock  one  morning,  when  we  were  in  longitude  Y3° 
30',  we  discovered  what  we  supposed  were  several  small 


THE  ISLAND  OF  ST.  PAUL.  85 

islets,  but  they  sank  upon  our  approach,  proving  to  be 
monster  squids,  floating,  and  lifting  eight  and  ten  feet 
above  the  water.  The  only  record  of  such  squids  hav- 
ing been  seen  before  was  made  by  Captain  Lavender,  in 
the  ship  Levant  from  Philadelphia.  These  monsters  are 
supposed  to  be  food  for  the  sperm  -  whale,  several  of 
wliich  were  in  siglit  at  that  time. 

The  following  day  we  made  the  island  of  St.  Paul, 
which  was  at  that  time  uninhabited.  It  was  a  volcanic 
island,  perhaps  a  mile  in  extent  north  and  south,  and 
about  half  that  east  and  west.  We  hove-to  to  leeward 
of  it,  and  in  two  of  our  boats  entered  a  basin  over  a  ten- 
foot  bar.  This  basin  had  evidently  been  a  crater.  Sev- 
eral hot  springs  were  tested  on  the  islet  by  Captain 
Drinker  and  his  passengers,  who  amused  themselves  by 
boiling  eggs  in  them,  and  hunting  penguins  and  gulls, 
with  which  the  island  abounded.  Outside  the  bar  the 
sailors  caught  two  boat-loads  of  fish  of  various  kinds. 
The  hook  seemed  to  be  a  stranger  to  them,  as  a  line 
would  scarcely  be  dropped  overboard  before  the  bait 
was  taken.  The  water  was  so  transparent  we  could  see 
the  bottom  at  ten  fathoms.  In  six  hours  we  must  have 
caught  a  thousand  pounds  of  fish.  Eight  years  after- 
wards, while  in  command  of  the  Manhattan,  bound  to 
Batavia,  I  revisited  the  island,  and  found  a  Pole  who 
called  himself  the  king  of  the  island,  and  claimed  its 
ownership.  He  said  he  had  two  small  schooners  plying 
to  the  Mauritius  with  fish  caught  and  prepared  for  that 
market,  and  employed  twenty  men.  He  also  raised  pigs, 
chickens,  and  fowls,  which  he  sold  to  passing  vessels. 

Leaving  St.  Paul's,  we  squared  away,  set  the  studding- 


86  FROM   THE   FORPXASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

sails,  and  continued  our  voyage.  Passing  through  Bass 
Strait  we  arrived  at  Sydney,  where  we  disposed  of  near- 
ly the  wliole  of  our  cargo.  Sydney  had  been  a  penal 
settlement  of  Great  Britain.  The  best  society  was  made 
up  of  some  of  the  convicts,  who  had  become  ticket-of- 
leave  men,  and  whose  families  had  followed  them.  We 
enjoyed  our  prolonged  stay  in  this  port  very  much. 
The  ship  was  a  warehouse,  and  the  scene  on  board  was 
very  lively,  owing  to  the  many  and  various  characters 
who  visited  us  daily.  Bat  the  time  came  to  leave  this 
gay  and  festive  scene,  where  1  had  contracted  my  first 
deep  baby-love  for  a  "young  cabbage-stalk,"  as  the  chil- 
dren of  convicts  are  called.  This  young  lady's  father 
was  a  wealthy  and  important  merchant,  who  had  been 
transported  for  some  misunderstanding  with  the  stock- 
holders of  the  bank  with  which  he  had  been  connected. 
Our  ship  was  in  the  river  ready  to  sail.  On  the  last 
night  I  was  fired  with  a  desire  to  see  my  sweetheart, 
and  I  resolved  to  go  ashore,  though  I  had  been  forbid- 
den to  do  so  by  the  captain,  who  feared  that  I  would  de- 
sert. At  nine  o'clock  a  boat  was  lowered,  into  which  I 
managed  to  smuggle.  Stowed  away  in  the  bow,  I  was 
hidden  by  the  men's  monkey-jackets,  which  had  been 
thrown  over  me.  Four  stout  men  manned  the  boat  and 
landed  the  captain  and  four  friends.  After  this  the 
boat  made  for  the  ship,  but  turned  when  the  captain 
was  out  of  siglit  and  landed  me.  I  promised  to  be  at  the 
dock  at  twelve  o'clock,  as  the  captain  had  ordered  the 
boat  to  return  for  him  at  half-past  twelve,  but  I  did  not 
reach  the  dock  until  two  o'clock,  and  missed  the  boat, 
of  course.     The  night  was  dark,  with  a  strong  ebb-tide 


GAINING  MY  SHIP  ON  A  LOG.  89 

running.  The  ship  lay  just  inside  the  heads,  waiting 
for  daylight  to  get  under  way,  and,  as  I  could  neither 
hire,  beg,  borrow,  nor  steal  a  boat  to  reach  the  vessel, 
which  was  about  three  miles  distant  from  the  landing, 
and  consequently  out  of  sight,  owing  to  the  darkness,  I 
was  obliged  to  swim  for  it.  A  jetty  was  being  built 
close  by,  and  from  this  I  rolled  a  small  string-piece  over- 
board. I  then  stripped,  and  tying  my  clothes  into  a 
bundle,  secured  it  to  the  piece  of  wood,  and  using  my 
legs  as  propellers  made  for  the  middle  of  the  river.  I 
headed  down  stream,  and  in  a  few  minutes  saw  ahead  of 
me  the  ship's  anchor-lights,  for  which  I  steered.  As  I 
neared  the  ship  the  noise  of  the  tide  breaking  on  her 
bow  made  me  realize  for  the  first  time  the  great  danger 
to  which  I  liad  subjected  myself.  In  an  instant  my  log 
had  struck  the  anchor-chain,  to  which  I  had  hoped  to 
cling  and  climb  up,  throwing  me  off  to  the  port  side  of 
the  ship,  while  it  passed  to  the  starboard.  I  sang  out 
lustily  for  a  rope,  but  the  men  on  the  lookout  failed  to 
hear  me.  I  found  myself  drifting  by  the  ship  rapidly, 
and  as  there  was  nothing  I"  could  grasp  to  save  myself, 
I  shouted, 

"Man  overboard!  Man  overboard!  Throw  me  a 
rope !" 

Instantly  all  was  bustle  on  board,  and  I  heard  the  or- 
der given, 

"  Lower  away  the  boat,  and  put  a  lantern  in  her." 

To  me  they  gave  encouragement  by  calling  out, 
"Swim,  my  lad,  swim.  The  boat  will  pick  you  up  di- 
rectly." In  the  mean  time  a  hen-coop  had  been  thrown 
overboard,  to  which  they  told  me  to  cling ;  but  for  this 


90  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

I  had  no  use,  having  fortunately  regained  my  log  in  the 
ship's  wake,  after  we  had  both  passed  out  of  her  eddy. 
I  was  drifting  very  rapidly  to  sea,  and  conld  hear  the 
breakers  roaring  in  the  direction  I  was  taking.  Sure 
destruction  was  beyond  if  the  boat  missed  me.  The 
lantern,  I  could  see,  was  not  always  coming  in  my  di- 
rection. In  the  mean  time  I  had  lost  my  voice  in  call- 
ing out  to  indicate  my  position,  and  had  become  exhaust- 
ed in  trying  to  stem  the  tide.  I  was  finally  picked  up 
by  the  boat  just  as  I  was  about  to  be  swallowed  by  the 
breakers,  and  taken  back  to  the  ship  and  hoisted  on 
board. 

AVhen  questioned  by  the  captain  as  to  how  I  came  to 
be  overboard,  I  replied  that  I  had  to  go  into  the  ship's 
liead,  from  which  I  fell.  When  asked  how  I  got  my 
clothes  so  nicely  tied  up,  I  said  that,  being  a  good  swim- 
mer, I  undressed  in  the  water.  I  knew  the  sailors  dare 
not  tell  1  had  been  ashore,  for  fear  of  punishment.  The 
captain  very  doubtingly  had  to  accept  my  yarn.  The 
only  one  who  guessed  the  truth  was  my  friend  Mr. 
Willing. 

At  five  o'clock  that  morning  we  got  under  way  and 
passed  out  by  the  Heads,  bound  to  Manila,  and  thence 
through  the  Indian  Archipelago.  One  fine  morning  we 
made  an  island  ahead  not  laid  down  on  the  chart.  This, 
of  course,  was  a  great  event.  We  approached  it  cautious- 
ly, with  the  light  sail  stowed  preparatory  to  making  a  sur- 
vey. There  was  a  lookout  at  the  mast-head  watching  for 
sunken  rocks  or  reefs.  Our  ship  was  armed,  after  the 
fashion  of  the  East  Indiamen  of  the  time,  as  a  defence 
against  the  Malay  prows — the  pirate  craft  that  infested 


DISCOVERY   OF  AN   ISLAND.  91 

nearly  all  the  straits  in  and  around  the  China  seas.  Our 
armament  consisted  of  four  carronades  and  six  "  Quak- 
ers." (Quakers  were  mock  cannon  bolted  fast  to  the 
bulwarks,  and  with  painted  ports  gave  the  ship  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  sloop -of -war.)  We  had  also  the  usual 
number  of  pistols,  boarding-pikes,  cutlasses,  etc.  Witli 
our  men  well  drilled  we  were  a  fair  match  for  a  single 
prow. 

As  we  neared  the  island  under  its  lee  it  appeared  to 
be  uninhabited,  and  we  ran  in  close,  clewed  up  our 
courses,  and  lowered  away  the  first  cutter  to  land  and 
reconnoitre.  The  island,  we  found,  was  well  wooded 
and  about  three  miles  in  length.  Our  captain  expected 
to  immortalize  himself  by  reporting  the  position  of  his 
discovery.  The  second  officer,  four  men,  two  passengers, 
and  myself,  well  armed,  formed  the  cutter's  crew.  We 
took  with  us  the  necessary  instruments  for  ascertaining 
the  situation  of  the  centre  of  the  island.  As  we  pulled 
towards  shore  we  discovered  a  coral  reef,  over  which  the 
sea  was  breaking.  We  rowed  along  the  reef  trying  to 
find  a  passage  to  enter.  The  water  was  perfectly  smooth 
inside.  The  distance  was  about  a  third  of  a  mile  from 
the  reef  to  the  beach,  our  ship  being  about  one  mile  to 
the  leeward  of  us.*  Presently  we  discovered  smoke  on 
the  island,  and  that  caused  us  to  lay  on  our  oars  and 
await  events.  We  had  not  waited  long  when  we  saw 
three  natives  in  nature's  attire  on  the  beach,  beckoning 
us  to  approach.  Opinion  was  divided  between  the  sec- 
ond mate  and  the  passengers  as  to  whether  it  would  be 
safe  to  cross  the  reef.  While  we  were  debating,  the 
three  natives  on  the  beach  were  joined  by  about  a  hun- 


92  FROxM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

dred  or  more  of  their  fellows.  They  all  made  signs  for 
us  to  approach.  The  sign  was  a  wave  of  the  hand  down 
towards  the  knee  instead  of  upward  to  the  head,  as  is 
customary  with  civilized  nations.  We  had  an  excellent 
opportunity  of  viewing  these  men.  They  appeared  to 
be  of  herculean  stature,  and  were  of  a  dark  copper  color, 
and  perfectly  nude,  with  long  hair  which  stood  out  from 
their  heads  fully  five  inches,  and  flowed  down  over  their 
backs  and  shoulders.  How  they  contrived  to  make  it 
stand  out  like  bristles  we  never  learned,  but  it  gave 
them  the  appearance  of  horrible  monsters  instead  of  hu- 
man beings.  They  had  high  cheek-bones,  deep-sunken 
eyes,  and  large  mouths  and  lips,  like  the  Patagonians. 
Their  numbers  continued  to  increase  until  they  must 
have  exceeded  three  hundred.  Finding  that  we  did  not 
attempt  to  cross  the  reef,  they  with  terrific  yells  took 
to  the  water  and  began  to  swini  towards  us.  They  were 
perfectly  regardless  of  the  sharks,  of  which  there  were 
many  about.  As  the  savages  were  unarmed,  and  had 
no  canoes,  w^e  apprehended  no  danger,  though  we  had 
made  up  our  minds  that  they  were  cannibals.  We 
waited  in  silence  for  their  arrival.  Clearing  the  smooth 
space,  they  passed  over  the  reef  and  through  the  break- 
ers, and  surrounded  our  boat.  Like  all  other  islanders, 
they  were  as  much  at  home  in  the  water  as  on  land. 
So  much  at  home  did  they  seem  to  be,  indeed,  that  we 
were  suddenly  possessed  with  a  desire  to  return  to  our 
ship,  but  the  moment  we  dipped  our  oars  they  were 
wrenched  out  of  our  hands.  Upon  tliis  w^e  drew  our 
cutlasses  to  prevent  them  from  coming  near  us.  They 
evidently  intended  to  upset  our  boat.     Seeing  the  sec- 


ATTACKED   BY  CANNIBALS.  95 

ond  cutter  coming  to  our  assistance,  tliey  made  a  rush 
for  us.  I  was  in  the  bow,  and  one  of  the  savages  near 
me  put  his  hand  on  tlie  rail,  when  I  struck  him  with 
my  cutlass.  He  let  go  and  dived  under  the  boat,  as 
though  to  capsize  her.  As  he  did  so  I  stabbed  him  be- 
tween the  shoulders.  But  in  an  instant  our  boat  was 
upset  and  we  were  all  struggling  in  the  water.  The 
captain  witnessed  our  danger  from  the  ship,  and  de- 
spatched the  third  cutter  to  our  assistance.  He  also  fired 
blank-cartridges,  which  frightened  the  natives,  who  had 
probably  never  heard  a  gun  before.  The  cutter's  men, 
using  their  pistols  with  deadly  effect,  gave  us  timely  aid, 
and  the  natives,  with  yells  and  shrieks,  swam  for  shore, 
leaving  us  to  be  picked  up  by  our  shipmates. 

When  we  arrived  on  board  the  captain  gave  us  a  lect- 
ure. He  said  we  deserved  to  be  taken  by  the  cannibals 
for  not  obeying  the  recall  signal  which  had  been  made, 
and  also  for  not  having  sense  enough  to  fire  our  pistols, 
which  would  have  frightened  the  savages,  instead  of 
using  cutlasses  when  we  found  the  oars  wrenched  from 
us.  The  fact  was  that  Mr.  Willing  was  so  determined 
to  land  that  he  kept  urging  the  second  mate  to  pull 
ashore.  We  sailors  backed  Mr.  Willing,  but  the  mate, 
fortunate  for  us,  was  too  great  a  coward  to  comply.  If 
we  had  landed,  our  fate  would  have  been  sealed. 

After  careful  observations  the  captain  located  the 
island  on  his  chart,  placing  it  in  or  near  the  Caroline 
group.  We  now  continued  our  course  through  Micro- 
nesia, stopping  at  some  of  the  larger  isles  to  trade  with 
the  less  savage  natives,  though,  as  all  were  cannibals,  we 
never  allowed  more  than  one  canoe  to  come  along-side 


96      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

at  a  time.  At  one  of  these  islands — one  of  the  sontli- 
western  of  the  Carolines— we  were  met  bj  a  hearty  hail 
from  one  of  the  canoes,  calling  upon  us  to  heave-to  and 
give  them  a  rope,  as  they  were  civilized.  We  backed 
our  main-yard  and  complied,  when  over  the  side  jumped 
a  Yankee  whaler,  who  had  deserted  his  ship  about  ten 
years  previous.  He  had  married  the  chief's  daughter 
and  received  a  coat  of  the  most  perfect  tattooing,  where- 
by he  had  become  duly  naturalized  and  invested  with 
the  privilege  of  man-eating.  He  assured  us,  however, 
that  for  a  year  or  two  cannibalism  had  not  been  prac- 
tised by  the  tribe  with  which  he  was  identified.  He 
was,  however,  rather  too  anxious  to  pilot  us  into  a  la- 
goon, where  he  said  we  might  lie  and  trade  quietly  for 
sandal-wood  and  tortoise-shell.  His  subjects  wore  aprons 
made  of  braided  palm-leaves.  Shells  were  thrust  through 
the  lobes  of  their  ears,  and  around  their  necks  hung 
strings  of  beads  and  shells.  The  women  had  the  most 
magnificent  and  abundant  hair  imaginable.  It  was 
braided  across  the  top  of  the  head  in  one  flat  braid, 
standing  about  four  inches  high,  the  ends  falling  loose 
over  their  backs,  and  was  perfumed  with  cocoa-nut  oil. 
Their  bodies  were  smeared  with  the  same  oil,  which 
gave  them  the  appearance  of  bronze  statuary  highly 
polished.  The  men  were  even  less  scantily  attired. 
"We  amused  ourselves  for  a  few  hours  in  dressing  some 
of  these  savages,  to  whom  a  coat  or  vest  was  an  un- 
known article.  Mr.  Willing  was  particularly  generous 
in  dispensing  his  wardrobe.  As  he  was  six  feet  in 
height,  his  clothes  would  fit  any  of  the  natives.  To  one 
man  was  given  a  vest.     Through  the  armholes  he  thrust 


BOUND   FOR   MANILA.  97 

his  legs,  buttoning  the  garment  in  front.  Another,  re- 
ceiving a  pair  of  trousers,  put  his  arms  into  the  legs, 
and  fastened  the  buttons  behind  his  back.  There  was 
not  a  high  hat  left  in  the  cabin  when  we  were  through. 
One  of  these  people,  with  a  crownless  hat  pulled  down 
over  his  eyes,  presented  a  most  amusing  appearance.  It 
would  require  a  Dickens  to  describe  the  ludicrous  scene, 
and  the  gravity  and  dignity  which  the  savages  displayed 
strutting  the  decks. 

We  received  from  these  people  some  shells,  yams, 
and  bread-fruit,  for  which  we  exchanged  tin  cuttings 
and  scrap-iron,  of  which  we  had  on  board  several  casks 
for  trading  purposes.  In  those  days  in  the  Indian 
Ocean  these  articles  were  more  useful  to  the  natives 
than  money.  For  one  turtle — the  largest  I  ever  saw, 
it  being  over  five  feet  long — we  gave  three  old  files,  a 
broken  saw,  and  some  pieces  of  old  hoop -iron.  This 
was  considered  a  very  fair  and  satisfactory  exchange. 
The  chief  was  so  delighted  with  the  reception  we  gave 
him  that,  after  we  had  dressed  him  from  head  to  foot, 
given  his  face  a  coat  of  red  paint,  and  treated  him  to  a 
glass  of  whiskey,  he  offered  to  present  each  of  us  with 
any  of  his  or  his  subject's  wives  or  daughters.  The 
generous  offer  was  not  accepted.  After  having  as  much 
fun  as  we  wanted  with  our  visitors,  we  filled  away  the 
main-yard  and  cut  the  ropes  by  which  their  canoes  were 
fastened.  This  was  the  only  way  of  getting  rid  of  them. 
When  they  saw  the  ropes  cut  they  jumped  overboard 
and  swam  for  their  boats  or  the  shore. 

We  now  shaped  our  course  for  Manila,  situated  on 
one  of  the  Spanish  islands  of  the  Philippine  group. 


98      FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

We  arrived  there  on  onr  Saturday.  The  ship  Avas  leak- 
ing badlj,  and  preparations  were  made  for  hauling  her 
into  the  canal.  We  worked  all  day  and  night,  and  as 
the  following  day  was  Sunday,  we  expected  to  have  a 
holiday.  But  at  daybreak  on  Sunday,  eight  launches, 
with  double-banked  oars  and  thirty  men  in  each,  were 
sent  by  the  captain  to  tow  the  ship  in,  in  charge  of  a 
pilot.  There  were  no  steam-vessels  at  that  time.  After 
heaving  up  our  anchor,  we  were  ordered  to  breakfast, 
and  after  that  to  trim  ship  on  an  even  keel.  Against 
this  we  rebelled,  because  we  had  gained  a  day  in  our 
trip  eastward,  and  it  was  really  Sunday,  but  the  mate 
with  the  after-guard,  armed,  came  forward,  and  fearing 
incarceration,  we  went  grumblingly  to  work.  About 
three-quarters  of  the  cargo  had  been  disposed  of  up 
to  that  time,  and  the  rest  was  to  be  sold  at  Manila. 
Among  the  freight  there  were  quantities  of  cider,  ales, 
and  liquors.  After  trimming  ship  we  went  on  deck, 
not,  however,  before  learning  where  tlie  liquor  was 
stowed.  At  noon,  while  the  officers  were  at  dinner, 
some  of  us  went  down  the  fore  hatch  into  the  between- 
decks  and  helped  ourselves  to  all  the  ale  we  could  drink. 
One  old  man-of-war's  man,  named  Kelso,  made  another 
visit  to  the  stores  later,  and  was  caught  by  the  mate 
coming  up  the  main  hatchway,  with  three  or  four  bot- 
tles of  liquor  under  his  shirt,  gloriously  drunk.  He 
was  immediately  seized  and  put  in  irons.  By  this  time 
we  had  arrived  in  the  canal,  and  were  moored,  head  and 
stern,  near  the  bridge.  All  Manila  had  turned  out  to 
witness  the  arrival  of  so  large  a  vessel  in  such  narrow 
waters;  we   nearly   blocked    the   channel.      The   mate 


THE  IRONS  BROUGHT  INTO   REQUISITION.  99 

hailed  the  captain,  who  was  standing  on  the  wharf,  say- 
ing, "  The  crew  have  broached  the  cargo,  and  all  are 
drunk."  The  captain  immediatelj^  came  aboard,  fol- 
lowed by  his  passengers,  and  he  and  his  officers  started 
forward.  As  I  was  the  only  one  of  the  crew  on  deck,  I 
was  seized,  hustled  aft,  and  put  in  irons  under  the  coach- 
house, where  Kelso  had  preceded  me.  He  was  utterly 
reckless  of  what  was  going  on  around  him,  and  was  sing- 
ing an  old  sea  refrain  : 

"I  met  Moll  Roe  in  the  morning, 
And  she  was  most  happily  drunk." 


100  FKOxM  THE  FOKECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

A  Mutiny  at  Manila,  inwiiicb  I  knock  down  the  Mate. — Tlie  whole 
Crew  put  in  Jail. — We  see  a  Fugitive  bayoneted  by  a  Manila 
Soldier. — We  and  the  Captain  cool  down,  and  he  takes  us  out  of 
Limbo. — I  make  a  Social  Call,  and  barely  escape  Assassination. — 
How  a  Handsome  American  Sailor  became  Captain  of  the  Port  of 
Manila. — A  Typhoon  in  the  China  Sea. 

I  HAD  been  in  limbo  but  a  few  minutes  when  I  saw 
the  crew  coming  aft  in  a  half-drunken  and  determined 
manner,  headed  by  my  chum  and  a  herculean  Irishman, 
nicknamed  "  Dublin  Jim."  They  demanded  my  release. 
The  awnings  had  been  spread,  and  the  captain  and  the 
passengers  were  sitting  on  the  rails  and  spars  on  the 
starboard  side,  while  the  officers  were  on  the  port.  The 
captain  ordered  the  men  forward,  but  thej  refused  to 
go  without  me.  Upon  this  the  captain  seized  a  capstan 
bar  from  under  the  rail  and  raised  it  aloft.  It  caught 
in  the  awning,  and  his  blow  was  stopped.  In  less  time 
than  I  can  tell  it  there  was  a  general  fight.  Mj  interest 
was  chiefly  directed  to  the  mate  and  my  chum.  The 
latter  was  down,  while  the  former  was  on  his  chest,  beat- 
ing him  unmercifully  with  a  belaying-pin.  Unable  to 
stand  this,  I  rushed  forward,  and  with  my  manacled 
hands  struck  the  mate  a  downward  blow  with  the  irons, 
laying  his  face  open  from  his  forehead  to  his  chin.  At 
the  same  time  I  received  a  blow  from  a  heaver,  and  was 


MUTINOUS   CONriuCT  W,  .TJ^jfc  "nj^i'A^i  '<  \         101 

stunned  for  a  moment.     RecoveHng  in  an   instant,  I 
heard  the  cry, 

"  Murder !  murder  i  A  cutlass  !  a  cutlass  !" 
Upon  the  decks,  which  were  covered  with  blood,  some 
of  the  men  were  stretched  senseless.  The  fight  still  con- 
tinued. I  started  towards  the  place  whence  the  cry  came. 
Jim  had  the  captain  by  the  throat,  with  his  head  over 
the  skylight,  and  was  choking  him  to  death.  Just  then 
the  steward  came  up  from  the  cabin  with  a  cutlass, 
w^hich  was  seized  by  the  mate.  He  was  too  nervous  and 
too  much  weakened  by  loss  of  blood  to  use  it  eflt'ectually, 
but  he  struck  Jim  over  the  head,  partly  scalping  him 
down  to  the  left  ear.  At  this,  Jim  let  go  his  hold  and 
wrenched  the  cutlass  out  of  the  mate's  hand.  He  would 
have  used  it  with  deadly  effect  if  I  had  not  interposed 
myself  to  prevent  it.  "  Guards !"  and  "  Help !"  had  been 
called,  and  in  a  few  moments  the  American  Consul  with 
a  number  of  soldiers  came  on  board,  and  we  were  over- 
powered, manacled,  and  sent  to  prison.  There  we  lived 
like  princes  on  three  cents  a  day  allowed  by  the  ship. 
Our  food  consisted  of  rice,  bread,  bananas,  beef  stew, 
and  soup.  As  some  of  our  men  had  a  little  money,  the 
jailers  treated  us  with  due  respect.  They  furnished 
anything  we  could  pay  for,  from  a  needle  to  a  bottle  of 
absinthe  or  anisette. 

The  natives  of  Manila  were  the  most  treacherous  and 
blood-thirsty  1  had  ever  seen.  Murder  was  a  daily  oc- 
currence. Our  prison  was  so  situated  that  we  had  a  fair 
view  of  the  town.  A  bridge,  with  a  guard-house  at  ei- 
ther end,  crossed  the  canal  close  to  us.  One  day,  as  we 
were  idly  looking  out  of  the  wnidow,  we  saw  a  murder 


102  -  F'iPQ^flL  'd^EE   FOftECXSTJ^E  TO  THE   CABIN. 

perpetrated.  A  soldier  was  in  pursuit  of  a  man,  who 
was  running  for  his  life  across  the  bridge.  Seeing  the 
guard  at  the  other  end  levelling  his  gun  at  liim,  the  fu- 
gitive hesitated,  and  was  about  to  leap  into  the  water, 
when  he  was  overtaken  and  bayoneted  by  his  pursuer. 
The  body  fell  into  the  canal  beneath.  The  soldier  cool- 
ly wiped  his  bayonet,  walked  back,  and  mounted  guard 
as  though  nothing  had  occurred. 

Our  quarters  were  the  best  in  the  jail,  having  win- 
dows on  the  east  side  and  on  the  north.  The  floor, 
walls,  and  ceiling  were  stone.  We  had  to  do  our  own 
cooking,  and  furnish  our  utensils  and  furniture.  Each 
had  an  iron  pot,  a  tin  cup  and  spoon,  and  his  sheath- 
knife.  For  beds  we  had,  according  to  the  custom  of  the 
country,  mats  and  wooden  bolsters.  Chairs  and  tables 
we  had  none.  We  were  great  favorites  with  the  jailer. 
He  allowed  us  to  witness  punishment,  such  as  garrot- 
ings,  of  which  we  saw  three.  Flogging  was  a  common 
occurrence,  the  Chinese  usually  being  the  subjects.  A 
Chinaman  was  always  brought  into  the  punishing-room 
on  a  stretcher,  tied  face  downward,  and  so  received  the 
number  of  lashes  prescribed  for  him.  All  prisoners  not 
manacled,  except  us,  were  employed  in  some  way,  the 
Chinese  doing  the  worst  of  the  drudgery.  We  were  al- 
lowed to  do  as  we  pleased,  and  we  amused  ourselves 
chiefly  with  card-playing. 

At  the  end  of  four  weeks  this  life  liad  become  very 
irksome,  and  we  would  have  been  glad  to  return  to  duty 
on  board  the  ship  upon  any  terms.  One  day  Captain 
Drinker  and  Mr.  Willing  appeared  at  the  prison.  They 
were  apparently  much  chagrined  at  seeing  us  playing 


THE   CREW   RETURN   TO   DUTY.  103 

cards  and  looking  quite  happj.  Instead  of  begging  the 
captain  to  take  us  out,  we  took  no  notice  of  his  presence, 
anxious  as  we  were  for  freedom.  He  called  me  to  him 
in  the  lobby,  and  asked  if  I  was  not  sorry  for  causing  tlie 
mutiny.  He  inquired  whether  I  would  ask  pardon. 
My  reply  was  that  he  had  put  me  in  jail  to  please  him- 
self, and  would  take  me  out  when  it  suited  him.  I  had 
not  the  slightest  fear  of  being  left  behind.  After  a  par- 
ley, eight  of  us  were  released  and  taken  on  board  the 
ship. 

During  our  incarceration  the  rest  of  the  cargo  had 
been  disposed  of.  The  ship  had  been  stripped,  hove 
down,  calked  and  coppered,  and  had  begun  taking  in  a 
cargo  consisting  of  sugar,  hemp,  cassia,  and  dye-woods. 
With  the  eight  released  men  and  some  of  the  consul's 
men  our  crew  was  completed.  I  shall  never  forget  the 
savage  look  I  received  from  Mr.  Hennessey  as  I  came  on 
board.  Mr.  Willing,  however,  assured  me  that  the  cap- 
tain had  come  to  a  fair  understanding  of  matters,  and 
that  the  mate  should  keep  his  hands  off  me.  After 
painting  and  rigging  the-  ship,  we  hauled  her  out  into 
the  bay  to  finish  loading. 

The  Manila  of  forty-five  years  ago  contained  but  few 
substantial  houses.  These  few  were  built  either  of  brick 
or  stone,  in  the  old-fashioned  Spanish  way.  The  general 
population  was  densely  packed  in  houses  perched  in  the 
air  on  bamboo  uprights  from  six  to  eight  feet  above  the 
ground,  and  shaped  like  bird-cages  with  peaked  roofs. 
They  were  made  of  bamboo,  and  the  roofs  were  covered 
with  matting  to  shed  the  rain.  Entrance  was  through 
the  floor,  by  means  of  ladders.     The  only  furniture  was 


104  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

a  mat  to  sleep  on,  and  a  wooden  pillow  covered  with 
matting.  What  little  cooking  these  people  did  was 
done  on  the  ground  under  the  houses.  Rice,  bread,  and 
bananas  were  the  chief  articles  of  food.  The  stores 
were  also  built  of  bamboo.  They  were  from  eight  to 
ten  feet  wide,  about  six  in  depth,  and  the  same  in  height. 
They  were  opened  in  the  morning  by  the  letting  down 
of  a  shutter,  which  fell  outward  and  rested  on  legs,  thus 
forming  a  counter  on  which  to  display  the  wares.  Few 
of  these  stores  had  doors,  so  that  the  store-keeper  was 
obliged  to  hop  over  the  counter  in  case  he  had  to  settle 
any  difference  with  a  customer.  The  store-keepers  were 
mostly  Chinese,  who  made  up  fully  one-quarter  of  the 
population.  After  dark  few  people  were  to  be  seen  on 
the  streets  except  soldiers  on  patrol  or  some  drunken 
sailors  ashore  on  liberty.  Common  enough  it  was  for 
these  sailors  to  find  themselves  the  following  morning  in 
the  calaboose,  stripped,  and  in  many  cases  badly  wounded. 
The  Malays  and  most  of  the  inhabitants  looked  very 
much  like  the  Japanese  we  meet  in  our  streets.  The 
Malays,  however,  chewed  beetel-nut  and  sharpened  their 
teeth,  which  gave  to  their  mouths  a  frightful  and  bloody 
appearance.  The  women  were  passably  good-looking, 
and  had  beautiful  hair,  which  was  black,  of  course.  Their 
skirt  consisted  chiefly  of  a  piece  of  grass  cloth,  cotton 
cloth,  or  silk,  wound  around  the  body  three  or  four  times, 
and  reaching  nearly  to  the  ankle.  Their  upper  wear 
was  a  loose,  short  smock,  coming  below  the  waist.  Their 
feet  were  thrust  into  sandals,  usually  high-heeled,  to  keep 
the  feet  from  the  ground,  as  the  streets  were  not  paved. 
The  common  Chinese  umbrella  and  fan  completed  their 


A   DAY   ON   SHORE   IN   MANILA.  105 

attire.  Nearly  all  the  men  were  armed  with  a  creese, 
which  was  a  crooked,  poisoned  dagger,  from  six  to  twelve 
inches  long.  The  life  of  a  man  in  this  region  was  of 
as  little  value  as  that  of  the  fighting-cock  which  nearly 
every  native  carried  in  his  arms. 

It  is  an  old  and  true  saying  that  tlie  sailor  has  a  sweet- 
heart in  every  port,  and  1  recall  that  I  myself  fell  in 
love  again  at  Manila.  Our  last  day  in  this  port  was  a 
Sunday.  My  watch  had  liberty.  The  captain  allowed 
us  two  dollars  each  for  spending  money.  With  part 
of  this  I  purchased  a  pound  of  tea  and  a  caddy,  and  the 
balance  I  spent  in  luxuries,  fifty  cents  going  a  long  way 
in  that  port  at  that  time.  The  day  I  spent  at  cock-fights 
and  various  other  amusements,  and  in  the  evening  I 
ventured  to  visit  the  lady  of  my  love.  I  say  "  vent- 
ured," because  I  had  a  rival,  a  native,  and  a  dangerous 
fellow,  named  Lorenzo.  At  the  entrance  of  the  court 
in  which  she  lived  w^as  a  billiard-saloon.  The  lights  of 
this  saloon  shone  brilliantly  across  the  lower  end  of  the 
court,  but  its  upper  end  was  in  utter  darkness.  The 
house  in  which  1  made  my  visit  was  the  last  of  ^ve  in 
the  row  on  the  same  side  as  the  saloon.  It  consisted  of 
a  single  room,  entered  through  the  floor  by  means  of  a 
ladder,  in  the. manner  of  those  that  I  have  already  de- 
scribed. After  an  hour  spent  in  smoking  a  cheroot  with 
the  lady's  father,  and  in  casting  sheep's  eyes  at  her,  I 
took  my  departure,  having  been  warned  to  look  out  for 
Lorenzo.  As  I  regained  the  floor  of  the  court  it  be- 
came at  once  apparent  to  me  that  I  was  in  danger.  A 
figure  was  stealing  up  the  court,  and  I  could  see  a  creese 
flashing  in  its  hand  from  time  to  time  as  the  light  struck 
5* 


106  FROM   THE    FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

it.  I  grasped  my  slieath- knife  firmly,  determined  to 
strike  the  first  blow.  I  had  the  advantage  of  my  oppo- 
nent, being  in  the  darkness,  while  he  was  between  me 
and  the  light.  When  he  had  come  very  near  nie  he 
hesitated  a  moment,  apparently  listening.  Then,  with  a 
bound  like  a  panther's,  he  was  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder 
I  had  just  descended,  and  I  saw  him  mount  it  and  dis- 
appear. In  front  of  the  saloon  meantime  were  several 
men,  evidently  waiting  to  prevent  my  escape.  I  slipped 
off  my  shoes.  I  w^as,  fortunately,  dressed  in  dark  blue 
dungaree  trousers  and  jumper.  Shading  my  face  with 
my  left  hand,  my  right  tightly  griping  my  knife,  I 
advanced  cautiously  through  the  darkness  until  within 
twenty  feet  of  the  men,  when,  as  I  had  to  emerge  into 
the  light,  I  made  a  dash  past  them.  As  soon  as  they 
comprehended  what  had  happened  they  were  after  me. 
Keaching  the  canal  I  plunged  in,  and  they  followed. 
Doubtless  they  supposed  I  would  swim  down  to  where 
my  ship  was  lying,  but  instead  I  swam  up  the  canal  to 
where  a  Dutch  galliot  lay,  moored  head  and  stern.  As 
I  climbed  up  her  anchor-chain  I  was  nearly  brained  by 
a  handspike  in  the  hands  of  the  lookout,  who  took  me 
for  a  Malay  robber.  I  cried, "  Don't  strike ;  I  am  an 
American."  The  noise  made  by  the  lookout  calling 
for  help,  under  the  impression  that  the  ship  was  being 
boarded  by  Malays,  brought  the  officers  and  crew  on 
deck,  armed  to  the  teeth.  In  the  light  1  was  recognized 
at  once,  being  known  to  the  crew.  That  night  a  double 
watch  was  set  to  repel  boarders,  as  my  place  of  refuge 
had  undoubtedly  been  revealed  by  the  noise  made  by 
the  Dutchmen  in  the  stillness  of  the  night. 


A  ROMANTIC   INCIDENT.  107 

Presently  we  were  hailed  by  the  captain  of  the  port, 
who  was  a  Baltimorean.  He  asked  if  there  was  any 
trouble  on  board.  I  explained  briefly  that  trouble 
might  ])e  expected,  whereupon  he  kindly  came  off  in 
his  boat  with  a  double  guard,  and  when  he  ascertained 
the  facts  in  the  case  he  rowed  me  to  my  ship.  He  had 
a  son  on  board  our  vessel  —  a  boy  twelve  years  old, 
whom  he  had  placed  under  the  care  of  our  captain,  to 
be  taken  home  to  Baltimore  to  be  educated.  The  cap- 
tain of  the  port,  whose  name  was  Eogers,  had  deserted 
from  one  of  our  men-of-war,  on  which  he  had  been  cap- 
tain of  the  foretop.  He  was  a  handsome,  dashing  fel- 
low. A  senorita,  the  daughter  of  a  rich  nobleman,  sit- 
ting in  her  carriage  listening  to  the  music  on  the  Plaza, 
saw  and  fell  in  love  with  him  at  first  sight.  She  be- 
came his  wife.  Her  father  was  reconciled  upon  ascer- 
taining through  the  American  Consul  that  Kogers  was 
of  a  good  Maryland  family.  It  was  his  love  of  advent- 
ure that  took  him  aboard  a  man-of-war.  Through  the 
influence  of  his  father-in-law  he  was  made  captain  of  the 
port.  This  place  greatly  increased  the  fortune  brought 
him  by  his  wife.  With  his  fortune,  wife,  and  family 
he  would  gladly  have  left  the  island,  but  the  law  pro- 
hibited the  exporting  of  the  fortune,  and  the  father-in- 
law  forbade  the  going  of  the  wife  and  family.  Poor 
Rogers  was  therefore  doomed  to  exile.  His  heart  con- 
stantly yearned  for  home,  where  his  parents  were  still 
alive,  but  he  could  not  desert  his  wife  and  family,  whom 
he  loved  dearly.  The  son  spoken  of  was  the  eldest  of 
four  children,  and  was  to  join  his  grandparents. 

The  ship  was  now  loaded,  the  chain  hove  short,  the 


108  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN". 

anchor  a-peak,  topsails,  topgallant  sails,  and  royals  mast- 
headed, courses  and  fore-and-aft  sails  loosed  ready  for 
dropping  and  hoisting.  We  had  not  long  to  wait  after 
eight  o'clock  in  the  morning.  It  was  a  lovely  tropical 
day,  and  with  joyful  hearts  we  were  ready  to  weigh  an- 
chor, homeward  bound.  Nothing  marred  the  pleasure  of 
this  start  but  the  fact  of  its  being  Friday.  The  sailors 
disliked  that  day  for  going  to  sea.  It  is  a  well-known 
fact  that  sailors  are  very  superstitious,  much  of  their 
life  being  passed  in  watching  signs  in  the  heavens,  the 
earth,  and  the  seas.  Captain  Drinker  and  Mr.  Willing, 
with  the  latter's  valet,  a  Malay  named  Battalio,  who  had 
waited  upon  him  at  the  hotel,  and  to  whom  he  had  be- 
come very  much  attached,  came  along-side  in  the  gig. 
They  were  followed  by  Captain  Rogers  in  his  barge, 
with  our  supercargoes  and  several  gentlemen  from  the 
shore.  All  retired  to  the  cabin,  I  presume  to  empty  a 
parting  bumper.  We,  the  crew,  were  engaged  in  tak- 
ing on  board  live-stock,  consisting  of  a  cow,  pigs,  chick- 
ens, turkeys,  and  geese.  These  passengers,  who  rarely 
land  at  the  end  of  the  voyage,  are  usually  the  last  re- 
ceived on  shipboard.  We  accomplished  our  task  and 
began  our  adieus.  A  premonition  seemed  to  possess 
Captain  Rogers  and  his  son  that  they  would  never  meet 
again.  This  made  the  parting  so  touching  that  it 
brought  tears  to  the  eyes  of  the  by-standers.  Then 
came  the  orders :  *'  Up  anchor ;  run  up  the  head-sails ; 
fill  away ;  set  the  courses  and  port  studding-sails  alow 
and  aloft."  They  were  executed  in  rapid  succession. 
We  passed  the  fort,  from  which  we  received  a  salute. 
We  replied  wuth  our  guns  and  dipped  our  flags,  while 


PKEPARING  FOR  A  TYPHOON.  109 

tlie  ladies  on  the  parapets  waved  their  handkerchiefs. 
We  shaped  our  course  down  the  China  seas,  the  mon- 
soon being  light.  The  ship  was  heavily  loaded,  and 
though  a  smart  ship,  her  speed  was  but  seven  knots. 
At  6  P.M.  the  decks  were  cleared  and  the  dog-watch  set. 
I  was  ordered  into  the  captain's  watch. 

The  usual  monotony  of  a  long  homeward  voyage  was 
broken  the  following  Thursday  at  noon.  The  wind  had 
partly  died  out,  the  sun  became  obscure,  the  sky  dark- 
ened, the  air  was  heavy  and  oppressive,  and  the  barom- 
eter fell  rapidly.  A  typhoon  was  coming  upon  us. 
The  sea-birds  flitted  around  the  ship  in  wild  confusion 
— a  sign  of  the  approaching  hurricane.  There  was  no 
time  for  dinner.  All  hands  were  called  to  shorten  sail. 
By  3  P.M.  the  ship  was  made  snug — studding-sails  out 
of  the  tops,  booms  on  deck,  as  well  as  the  topgallant  and 
royal  yards,  flying  jib-boom  rigged  in,  and  everything 
furled  in  double  gaskets,  except  a  reefed  foresail,  fore- 
stay  sail,  and  close- reefed  maintop  sail.  With  .extra 
lashings  passed  around  the  water-casks,  spars,  and  boats, 
and  the  hatches  battened  down,  we  felt  that  the  ship 
was  snug  enough  to  meet  the  storm. 

At  4  P.M.  the  barometer  had  fallen  below  27°.  All 
hands  were  called  to  house  the  fore  and  mizzen  topgal- 
lant masts,  and  pass  spilling  lines  around  the  foresail 
and  maintop  sail.  Thus  we  waited  the  dreaded  night 
and  coming  storm.  The  ship  held  on  her  course,  making 
two  knots.  At  four  bells  we  were  sent  below  to  supper, 
with  orders  to  be  on  deck  at  a  moment's  notice.  Meals 
were  served  at  eight,  twelve,  and  six  o'clock.  In  some 
ships  the  kid  is  allowed  to  remain  in  the  forecastle,  and  in 


110  FROxM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

such  cases  Jack  regales  himself  at  midnight  with  a  piece 
of  pork  or  salt  junk  and  biscuits. 

At  11  P.M.,  six  bells,  a  vivid  flash  of  lightning  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  peal  of  thunder  which  shook  every  rib  in 
the  ship,  making  her  tremble  like  an  aspen.  At  the 
same  moment  the  floodgates  of  heaven  were  lifted,  and 
we  had  to  open  the  ports  to  let  out  the  deluge,  the  scup- 
pers and  wash-ports  not  being  large  enough  to  free  the 
ship.  Egyptian  darkness  was  upon  us.  Orders  were 
given  to  clew  up  the  maintop  sail  and  haul  up  the  fore- 
sail and  furl  and  set  the  main  spencer.  The  lightning 
flashed  in  a  rapid  succession  of  glares,  followed  by  deaf- 
ening peals  of  thunder. 

Before  we  could  secure  the  sails,  the  typhoon  burst 
upon  us  with  terrific  fury,  burying  the  ship's  lee  rail 
under  water.  The  sails  which  we  were  endeavoring  to 
furl  were  blown  into  shreds.  After  a  few  flaps,  which 
resembled  the  noise  of  a  heavy  discharge  of  musketry, 
they  were  entirely  blown  from  the  yards.  This  relieved 
the  ship  somewhat.  The  rain  had  ceased  and  the  light- 
ning and  thunder  passed  over.  During  this  time,  how- 
ever, it  was  with  difliculty  that  we  could  secure  our- 
selves from  being  blown  out  of  the  maintop.  Those  on 
the  foretop  fared  worse,  as  two  of  their  number  were 
lost  overboard.  The  violence  of  the  wind  picked  up 
the  sea  so  that  the  spoon-drift  would  strike  us  with  the 
force  of  hailstones.  The  sea  was  a  mass  of  seething 
foam,  presenting  the  appearance  of  one  great  breaker. 
The  ship  was  lying  nearly  on  her  beam-ends,  almost  mo- 
tionless. The  fury  of  the  storm  prevented  both  ship 
and  sea  from  rising  against  its  pressure. 


SHIP   IN    A    TYPHOON. 


OUR  SHIP  SPRINGS   A   LEAK.  113 

It  seemed  as  though  the  earth  had  taken  the  place  of 
the  heavens.  They  looked  doubly  black  by  contrast 
with  the  white,  foaming  sea  below.  The  scene  was  one 
of  awful  grandeur,  which  none  can  understand  but  those 
wlio  have  witnessed  the  wrath  of  the  elements  on  the 
face  of  the  waters.  Momentarily  expecting  the  ship  to 
founder,  we  uttered,  as  we  supposed,  our  last  prayer. 

This  night's  agony  of  fear  found  some  relief  in  the 
morning,  when  the  gale  abated  a  little.  The  sea  now 
rose,  and  waves  like  mountains  chased  one  another  w^ith 
the  velocity  of  over  sixty  miles  an  hour.  With  difficul- 
ty we  got  her  off  before  the  wind  under  a  close-reefed 
foretop  sail.  We  lost  the  jib  in  attempting  to  set  it,  and 
the  forestay  sail  had  been  blown  away.  By  noon  the 
wind  had  sufficiently  moderated  to  allow  us  to  bend  and 
set  a  close-reefed  foresail.  The  havoc  caused  to  the 
ship  during  the  night  gave  her  the  appearance  of  a 
wreck.  The  bulwarks  and  parts  of  the  main  and  mon- 
key rails  were  w-ashed  away.  Boats  and  water-casks 
were  stove  or  washed  overboard.  The  galley  was  stove 
in  and  the  decks  were  swept  clear  of  nearly  everything 
except  a  few  chickens,  ducks,  and  pigs,  which  had  been 
put  into  the  long-boat.  Most  of  these  were  drowned. 
One  of  the  guns  had  broken  from  the  lashings  and  had 
gone  into  the  sea,  and  the  "  Quakers,"  of  course,  were 
lost  with  the  bulwarks.  The  heavy  strain  on  the  ship 
had  caused  her  to  spring  a  leak,  and  by  the  time  we 
could  man  the  pumps  there  was  four  feet  of  water  in 
the  hold.  Had  the  gale  continued  in  its  fury  we  should 
have  foundered.  The  plank  sheer  and  covering  board 
in  some  places  having  been  started  up,  the  water  entered 


114  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 


PUMPING    AND    BALING    ALL    NIGHT. 


the  ship  in  streams.  All  hands  were  kept  at  the  pnmps. 
At  6  P.M.  we  had  gained  one  foot  on  the  water  in  the 
hold.  The  decks  were  still  covered  with  water  from  the 
occasional  combers  that  boarded  us.  The  wind  moder- 
ating, we  bent  and  set  a  close-reefed  maintop  sail  and 
forestay  sail.  At  Y  p.m.  the  appearance  of  the  weather 
indicated  a  second  edition  of  the  previous  night,  chain- 
lightning  making  its  appearance,  accompanied  by  heavy 
peals  of  thunder  and  by  rain..  As  our  caboose  had  been 
badly  damaged,  no  cooking  was  done  during  the  day. 


ATTEMPTED   SUICIDE.  115 


CHAPTER   yill. 

Battalio,  the  Malay,  cuts  his  Throat. — Death  of  my  Chum  Jack, 
whose  Thigh  was  Broken  in  the  Storm. — His  Burial  at  Sea.— I 
Study  to  become  an  Officer. — The  Colored  Steward  endeavors  to 
Fire  my  Ambition. — Arrival  in  the  Delaware. — Battalio's  Shock- 
ing Death. 

It  was  my  trick  at  the  wheel.  I  had  just  struck  sev- 
en bells,  and  the  crew  were  at  the  pumps.  The  captain 
and  passengers  were  below  taking  their  supper  (eight 
bells  being  their  usual  hour),  when  the  little  boy,  Rogers, 
came  up  the  companion-way  to  ascertain  the  cause  of 
Battalio's  not  answering  a  call  from  the  captain.  Both 
doors  being  open,  I  could  clearly  see  into  the  pantry. 
The  steward,  a  colored  man,  entered  on  one  side,  the  boy 
on  the  other.  In  an  instant,  with  a  scream,  the  boy 
rushed  to  me  and  clasped  me  around  the  body.  The 
steward,  starting  towards  the  companion-way,  cried, 
"Murder!  murder!     Help!" 

The  captain  and  those  below  came  up  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  the  confusion.  Seeing  the  boy  clasping  me, 
and  still  screeching,  I  was  asked  to  explain.  The  stew- 
ard had  fallen  in  a  faint.  The  crew  came  rushing  aft. 
All  expected  that  the  ghost  had  been  seen.  As  we  had 
started  on  Friday,  and  this  was  Friday  night,  in  the 
quarter-moon,  we  felt  that  our  time  had  arrived.  The 
captain  and  Mr.  Willing  went  into  the  pantry,  where  I 


116  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

said  there  must  be  something  wrong.  Upon  entering, 
they  found  Battalio,  with  a  gunnj-bag  tied  around  his 
body  and  one  under  his  feet  to  prevent  the  blood  from 
staining  the  floor,  sitting  on  a  chair,  his  throat  cut  from 
ear  to  ear.  This  horrible  spectacle  at  such  a  time  fairly 
froze  the  blood  in  our  veins. 

Life  was  not  extinct,  and  he  was  carried  out  and  laid 
on  deck  on  the  starboard  side.  There  he  lay  on  his  back, 
apparently  writhing  in  the  agonies  of  death.  When 
asked  why  he  had  committed  the  deed,  he  could  not  ar- 
ticulate, but  moved  his  lips  as  though  wishing  to  speak. 
I  had  been  relieved  at  the  wheel,  and  was  standing  at  his 
head  with  a  lantern.  I  was  ordered  to  raise  his  head  to 
bring  the  windpipe  together  so  that  he  might  perhaps 
be  able  to  speak.  I  had  to  obey.  He  tried  to  speak, 
but  the  blood  choked  him.  He  motioned  to  Mr.  Will- 
ing as  though  he  wished  to  communicate  with  him. 
When  asked  why  he  had  done  the  deed,  he  indicated  by 
signs  that  he  had  left  a  written  communication.  We 
learned  his  story  afterwards.  He  had  fallen  in  love  with 
Mrs.  Kogers  when  he  was  a  clerk  in  her  father's  office. 
She  did  not  seem  averse  to  his  advances  until  Rogers  ap- 
peared, but  then  she  spurned  him.  On  seeing  her  anoth- 
er's wife,  he  was  determined  to  be  revenged.  Dismiss- 
ed from  her  father's  service,  he  had  waited  years  for  an 
opportunity  to  strike.  He  had  learned  that  young  Rog- 
ers was  to  take  passage  on  our  ship,  and  had  ingratiated 
himself  with  Mr.  Willing,  who  agreed  to  take  him  to  the 
United  States  as  his  valet.  His  plot  was  to  avenge  him- 
self upon  the  mother  by  poisoning  her  child.  On  that 
Friday  night  he  had  intended  to  do  the  murder.     He 


REPAIRING  DAMAGES   AFTER  THE   STORM.  117 

was  at  work  with  liis  poisonous  stuff  when  a  sharp  flash 
of  lightning,  followed  by  a  terrific  peal  of  thunder,  de- 
terred him  for  an  instant.  Then  he  was  seized  with  a 
superstitious  awe,  and  he  fancied  that  his  hand  was 
seized  by  his  dead  mother's.  At  the  same  time  all  his 
love  for  Mrs.  Rogers  returned,  and  he  resolved  to  put  an 
end  to  his  own  existence  rather  than  cause  her  misery. 
He  had  had  a  good  education,  and  was  intended  for  the 
priesthood,  but  his  love  for  worldly  pleasures  deterred 
him  from  taking  holy  orders. 

The  storm  continued,  and  the  lightning  still  illumi- 
nated this  ghastly  scene.  A  big  sea  boarded  the  ship, 
washing  us  into  a  heap.  We  gathered  ourselves  up 
more  or  less  injured.  My  poor  chum  had  his  thigh 
broken.  Taking  Battalio  tip,  we  laid  him  on  the  spars 
on  the  starboard  side  of  the  long-boat.  There  was  no 
sleep  for  us  that  night.  We  all  stayed  together,  not  one 
attempting  to  go  below.  Though  not  cowards,  we  felt 
more  courageous  in  one  another's  presence,  dreading  we 
knew  not  what,  but  feeling  that  this  unlucky  ship  must 
be  possessed  of  a  devil.  All  hands  continued  to  work 
at  the  pumps  during  the  night,  and  thus  freed  the  ship 
from  water.  By  4  a.m.  the  gale  had  broken,  the  weath- 
er had  cleared  off  beautifully,  and  the  sun  rose  once 
more  upon  a  fine  morning,  with  the  trade-wind  blowing. 
We  at  once  set  to  work  repairing  damages.  The  galley 
received  the  attention  of  the  carpenter  and  "  doctor." 
(All  sea-cooks  are  called  doctors).  Hot  coffee  was  served, 
and  by.  noon  we  had  the  topgallant  masts  on  end,  with 
all  the  yards  aloft  and  sails  set,  including  studding-sails 
on  the  port  side.     At  noon  we  had  a  dinner  of  salt  beef 


118  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE   TO  THE  CABIN. 

of  tlie  mahogany  sort,  and  yams,  finishing  off  with  a 
rousing  pluni-diiff,  with  molasses,  as  an  extra  treat.  Duff 
was  served  only  on  Thursdays  and  Sundays,  and  the 
plums  were  allowed  only  on  high  festivals. 

We  were  now  on  the  equator,  between  Borneo  and 
Sumatra.  The  sun  was  scorching  hot.  Battalio's  breath- 
ing during  the  night  had  become  very  difficult.  The 
rattling  noise  in  his  throat  still  haunts  me.  Suddenly 
he  rose  and  went  to  the  rail,  over  which  he  attempted 
to  jump.  The  captain  called  to  us  to  stop  him.  We 
did  so.  During  the  morning  the  captain  and  Mr.  Will- 
ing had  tried  to  persuade  Eattalio  to  have  his  throat 
sewed  up.  This  he  would  not  submit  to  until  his  breath- 
ing became  agonizing.  They  would  not  give  him  a 
glass  of  water  until  he  would  allow  them  to  sew  it.  He 
finally  consented.  The  operation  was  performed  by  the 
ca23tain.  The  loss  of  blood  did  not  seem  to  affect  the 
man's  strength  much.  After  bandages  had  been  put 
around  his  neck,  a  drink  of  water  was  given  him,  and 
he  was  able  to  articulate  indistinctly ;  but  he  would  give 
us  no  satisfactory  answer  as  to  why  he  wishedto  die,  only 
replying  that  he  had  written  it  all  down.  His  writing 
being  in  the  Malay  patois,  we  could  not  read  it.  He 
was  a  great  smoker,  and  asked  for  his  cheroot,  which 
was  given  him.  Finishing  this,  he  became  morose. 
When  no  one  was  near  he  took  his  head  in  both  liands, 
and  with  a  sudden  jerk  threw  it  backward,  and  his  body 
following,  he  fell  behind  the  spars  under  the  long-boat. 
His  intention  apparently  was  to  break  his  neck.  This 
revolting  sight  made  us  wish  he  had  accomplished  his 
original  purpose.     The  captain  and  Mr.  Willing  came 


BATTALIO  S  STRANGE  DETERMINATION.  119 

forward  and  tried  to  reason  with  him  by  working  on 
his  religious  fears,  promising  him  that  if  he  w^ould  de- 
fer taking  his  life  until  w^e  were  ashore  they  would  give 
him  a  religious  burial  or  send  his  body  home.  Thirst 
alone  made  him  consent  to  have  his  throat  again  sewed 
up.  With  a  skull-cap,  the  long  strings  of  which  were 
tied  to  the  waistband  of  his  trousers,  we  secured  his 
head.  He  had  taken  no  nourishment  except  water,  to 
which  he  helped  himself  from  the  scuttle-butt.  At 
eleven  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  he  came 
aft  and  asked  the  captain  to  allow  him  to  work.  His 
request  w^as  mildly  refused.  Eight  bells  struck,  and  I 
took  the  wheel.  The  captain  and  officers  had  gone  be- 
low to  work  out  the  day's  reckoning.  The  crew  w^ere 
at  dinner,  and  no  one  was  on  deck  except  myself.  Bat- 
talio  came  aft  on  the  lee  side,  hidden  by  the  cuddy-house. 
Suddenly  entering  the  pantry,  he  took  the  knife-box  and 
boots  and  went  to  his  accustomed  place,  where  he  had 
been  in  the  habit  of  cleaning  them,  and  began  polishing 
them  as  though  nothing  had  happened.  This  act  was 
so  sudden  and  unexpected  that  I  dared  not  make  an 
outcry  for  fear  of  an  attack,  as  I  was  no  match  for  him 
with  a  knife.  Ha  was  not  over  six  feet  from  me.  I 
was  riveted  to  the  spot,  paralyzed  with  fear. 

The  ship  came  up  to  the  wind  and  shook  her  stud- 
ding-sails, bringing  Mr.  Hennessey  on  deck.  He  imme- 
diately retreated  upon  seeing  Battalio  with  the  knife- 
box  in  hand,  but  again  came  on  deck,  reinforced  by  the 
captain,  who  went  to  Battalio  and  told  him  he  could  not 
allow  him  to  work.  To  this  he  replied  :  "  I  must  work, 
or  I  will  kill  myself.     I  cannot  be  idle."     From  this 


120     FKOM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

time  forward  he  attended  to  his  regular  duties,  finally 
working  himself  into  the  cabin. 

My  chum's  injuries  were  more  serious  than  thej  were 
at  first  supposed  to  be.  He  had  received  an  internal 
hurt  which  caused  him  intense  suffering.  Having  no 
doctor  on  board,  the  captain,  w^ith  the  aid  of  the  medi- 
cine-chest and  medical  guide,  did  all  he  could  to  allevi- 
ate his  sufferings,  but  death  was  inevitable.  In  mj  watch 
below  I  waited  on  him,  as  well  as  in  my  watch  on  deck, 
the  captain  allowing  me  to  go  down  to  look  after  him. 
My  presence  seemed  to  allay  his  sufferings.  He  loved 
me  as  he  had  never  loved  a  human  being  before.  To 
me  he  showed  his  great  bravery  and  tender  heart.  His 
knowledge  that  his  end  was  near  had  made  these  things 
more  manifest.  "Boy,"  he  would  say,  "when  I  took 
you  under  my  wing  in  the  Texas  frigate  I  felt  I  had 
something  to  live  for.  I  never  knew  a  mother's  love. 
From  the  orphanage  at  Portsmouth  I  was  put  on  a 
school-ship.  Thence  I  went  to  the  Vernon  frigate,  and 
thus  became  a  British  man-of-war's  man.  After  serv- 
ing many  years  I  joined  the  Texan  service  during  the 
struggle  of  that  State  for  freedom.  Meeting  you  there 
awakened  in  me  a  feeling  that  I  had  more  to  live  for 
than  the  reckless  life  I  had  been  leading.  I  hoped  to 
live  long  enough  to  see  you  made  a  captain.  You  were 
only  fourteen  years  old  when  I  took  you  in  hand.  I 
taught  you  to  splice  and  knot.  No  man  can  make  a 
better  man-rope  knot,  single  or  double  wall,  or  crown  a 
lanyard,  tie  a  reef-knot,  or  toss  a  royal  bunt  better  than 
you.  You  can  hand,  reef,  and  steer,  and  though  young 
you  are  large  enough  to  ship  on  your  next  voyage  as  an 


A  BURIAL  AT  SEA.  121 

*  A.  B.'  This  is  as  sure  as  that  the  voyage  I  am  about 
to  take  will  be  the  last  we  will  all  have  to  make.  What 
I  leave  belongs  to  you.  The  prayer  your  mother  taught 
you  you  must  never  forget.  Be  brave,  be  true,  and  di- 
vide your  last  plug  of  tobacco  with  your  shipmates." 

These  remarks  are  a  part  of  his  utterances  during  his 
last  hours.  Death  had  no  terror  for  him.  Seeing  the 
end  drawing  near,  I  asked  him  to  let  me  call  the  cap- 
tain to  pray  with  him.  Clasping  my  hand  tightly,  he 
said,  "  No ;  tell  me  your  mother's  prayer."  Uttering 
the  Lord's  prayer  after  me,  he  breathed  his  last.  In 
him  died  the  truest  heart  I  ever  met. 

It  is  strange,  but  nevertheless  true,  that  this  was  the 
second  calamity  that  had  occurred  on  this  voyage  on  a 
Friday.     He  died  at  4  a.m. 

I  had  never  before  witnessed  a  burial  at  sea.  The 
body  was  sewed  up  in  a  canvas  and  ballasted  at  the  feet, 
to  insure  its  descent.  At  noon  it  was  placed  on  a  plank 
at  the  lee  gangway,  covered  by  an  American  flag.  The 
main-yards  having  been  thrown  aback  to  stop  the  ship's 
way,  all  hands  were  called  to  attend  the  burial,  the  bell 
tolling  while  we  were  mustering  around  the  corpse  with 
heads  bared.  The  captain  took  his  place  by  the  side 
of  our  dead  shipmate,  when  the  bell  ceased  to  toll,  and 
with  a  clear  voice,  read  the  impressive  Episcopal  service 
for  the  dead.  At  the  conclusion  the  inner  end  of  the 
plank  was  raised,  and  the  body  was  allowed  to  slide  into 
the  ocean,  the  grave  that  no  monument  can  mark.  A 
few  ripples  from  the  splash  and  a  few  bubbles  from  the 
broken  water,  and  all  was  over. 

The  order  to  fill  away  the  main-yard  was  given.  We 
6 


122  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

immediately  obeyed.  Work  recalled  us  from  the  sad 
scene,  but  it  was  a  long  time  before  I  could  be  comfort- 
ed, for  the  dead  man  and  I  had  been  chums  for  over 
three  years. 

We  had  now  passed  out  of  the  China  seas  into  the 
Strait  of  Sunda,  stopping  at  Anjier  Point,  Island  of 
Java.  This  was  the  stopping-place  for  all  homeward- 
bound  ships  to  lay  in  fresh  supplies  of  live-stock,  yams, 
bananas,  cocoa-nuts,  etc.  We  did  not  forget  to  take  two 
or  three  dozen  monkeys  and  parrots,  and  hundreds  of 
Java  sparrows.  The  natives  here  had  been  spoiled  by 
the  Americans,  even  at  this  early  date.  They  would  no 
longer  exchange  their  commodities  for  tin  cuttings,  scrap- 
iron,  and  beads.  The  old  Spanish  pillar  dollar  was  -the 
only  money  that  would  pass  with  them.  For  one  of 
these  we  could  buy  from  four  to  five  monkeys,  accord- 
ing to  the  size,  beauty,  and  kind,  the  most  costly  being 
the  "ringtail."  Java  sparrows  sold  for  the  equivalent 
of  one  cent  each.  Fine  capons  cost  one  dollar  per  dozen, 
and  chickens  or  fowls  fifty  cents  a  dozen.  We  were 
treated  that  day  to  a  chicken  pot-pie  dinner,  a  regular 
triple-decker.  After  remaining  here  a  day  and  filling  our 
casks  with  fresh  water  and  obtaining  a  supply  of  turtles, 
we  continued  our  voyage.  Leaving  the  Java  Heads,  we 
shaped  our  course  for  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

One  of  my  watch,  "  Portuguese  Joe,"  had  endeared 
himself  to  me  by  assisting  in  the  care  of  my  late  chum, 
and  by  lauding  him  as  one  of  the  best  shipmates  he  had 
ever  sailed  with.  As  he  had  no  chum  —  Portuguese 
were  never  favorites  in  a  ship — my  sympathies  drew  me 
towards  him. 


I  STUDY  NAVIGATIO^\  133 

During  our  night-watches  he  was  constantly  trying 
to  fire  my  ambition,  and  urging  me  to  turn  over  a  new 
leaf  and  make  a  gentleman  of  niyself,  saying  that  there 
was  no  reason  why  I  should  not  become  chief  officer  of 
a  'New  York  packet.  By  applying  myself  to  the  study 
of  navigation,  which  the  captain  had  offered  to  teach 
me,  I  could  raise  myself  from  a  Jack  in  the  forecastle  to 
a  captain  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  instead  of  being  or- 
dered I  could  order  others.  I  formed  resolutions  accord- 
ingly, and  asked  the  captain  if  he  would  fulfil  his  prom- 
ises. He  kindly  consented.  I  went  to  work  with  a 
will.  Every  spare  moment  was  occupied  in  the  study 
of  Bowditch,  and  by  the  time  we  arrived  at  the  Capes 
of  Delaware,  by  dint  of  extraordinary  application  I  had 
been  taught  enough  navigation  to  fit  me  to  be  an  officer. 

In  running  down  the  Indian  Ocean  towards  the  Cape, 
although  we  never  had  watch  and  watch,  the  captain 
allowed  us  Saturday  afternoons  for  w^ashing  and  mend- 
ing our  clothes.  Afterwards  we  were  allowed  to  sky- 
lark, our  fun  usually  ending  with  a  treat  from  Mr.  Will- 
ing in  the  shape  of  a  couple  of  bottles  of  Holland  gin. 
Battalio  would  come  forward  in  the  evenings,  and  al- 
though his  throat  had  failed  to  heal,  he  would  talk  with., 
us  freely  upon  any  subject  except  the  attempt  at  suicide. 
He  was  still  obliged  to  wear  the  skull-cap  to  press  his 
head  forward.  The  boy  Rogers  always  shunned  him, 
which  was  no  more  than  natural,  for  he  presented  a 
ghastly  appearance.  We  were  in  as  much  dread  of  him 
as  if  he  had  been  the  Evil  One  himself,  and  we  all  felt 
that  Satan  was  saving  him  for  some  horrible  deed. 
Though  he  had  lost  so  much  blood,  and  suffered  from 


124  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

the  constant  suppuration  of  the  wound,  his  strength 
still  appeared  as  great  as  ever.  The  knowledge  of  this 
increased  our  superstitious  fears,  and  at  every  full  moon 
and  on  Fridays  they  were  intensified.  We  had  hoped 
that  during  the  hot  weather  mortification  would  set  in 
and  so  end  him  ;  but  it  was  not  to  be.  We  had  entered 
a  cooler  climate. 

When  we  reached  the  Cape  we  beat  around  it,  entered 
the  South  Atlantic,  and  shaped  our  course  to  the  brisk 
south-east  trade-winds  for  the  Island  of  St.  Helena,  where 
East  Indiamen  of  all  nations  stop  for  fresh  vegetables 
as  a  curative  for  the  scurvy,  so  common  among  crews 
on  long  voyages.  Canned  vegetables  and  the  luxury 
of  all  tinned  goods  were  unknown  then.  The  island 
abounded  in  water -cress  and  yams.  The  former  the 
natives  gathered  in  very  large  quantities,  bringing  it 
along-side  as  soon  as  the  ship  hove-to  under  the  lee  of 
the  island.  Our  stay  here  was  not  over  two  hours. 
The  United  States  Consul  came  on  board  with  letters. 
'No  one  went  ashore.  Leaving  St.  Helena  and  passing 
close  to  the  westward  of  the  Ascension  Islands,  we 
crossed  the  equator  and  entered  our  home  waters,  the 
North  Atlantic.  Nothing  had  broken  the  harmony  of 
the  homeward  voyage  after  we  had  rounded  the  Cape. 

I  was  very  fond  of  steering,  and  was  considered  a 
good  helmsman.  I  would  take  anybody's  trick  at  the 
wheel  for  a  chew  of  tobacco.  This  article  had  become 
scarce,  as  it  usually  does  on  a  long  voyage.  I  have  seen 
a  quid  pass  from  mouth  to  mouth,  to  be  finally  dried 
and  smoked  in  a  pipe.  I  had  several  reasons  for  wanting 
to  steer.     First,  I  got  clear  of  the  dirty  work,  such  as 


"PORTUGUESE  JOE."  125 

tarring,  painting,  scraping,  and  general  cleaning.  Apart 
from  this,  I  was  left  more  with  my  own  thoughts,  and 
could  build  air-castles,  and  when  no  one  saw  him  the 
steward,  with  whom  I  was  a  great  favorite,  would  bring 
me  out  many  a  tidbit  from  the  pantry.  In  the  even- 
ings he  would  "  pat  Juba  "  to  my  dancing.  I  was  pro- 
ficient at  this,  having  learned  it,  among  many  other 
accomplishments,  on  board  of  a  man-of-war.  Many  a 
time  he  would  sit  along-side  of  me  and  say,  "  Boy,  you 
is  a  great  fool.  What  for  don'  you  hab  better  sinse? 
What  is  you  gwine  ter  do  when  de  Lawd  calls  you  an' 
fin'  you  'mong  dese  hyar  rase' Is  fo'ward,  or  in  some 
wusser  place  ?  I  heerd  de  cap'n  say  dat  he  wus  gwine 
fur  ter  make  you  sumfin'.  You  might  be  a  cap'n,  den 
you  could  wear  fine  clo's.  Did  you  see  me  go  ashore  at 
Sydney  an'  de  gals  eye  me  ?  De  gemman  is  'stinguished 
for  de  fine  clo's  what  he  hab  on  an'  de  watch  what  he 
wears." 

This  good-hearted  colored  man  was  very  fond  of  dress 
and  jewellery.  He  would  go  ashore  in  the  very  height 
of  Philadelphia  negro  style. 

The  Philadelphia  negroes,  by  -  the  -  way,  are  always 
considered  the  most  aristocratic  and  fashionable  of  their 
race.  I  saw  him  go  ashore  in  a  long-tailed  blue  coat, 
with  velvet  collar  and  brass  buttons,  yellow  open  vest, 
an  immense  frill-shirt,  lavender  trousers,  the  very  finest 
patent-leather  boots,  a  white  hat  with  a  green  rim,  a 
cane,  an  eyeglass,  and  a  handsome  red  silk  handkerchief 
trailing  out  of  his  tail-pocket.  So  dressed,  he  felt  him- 
self the  equal  of  any  lady  in  the  land.  With  the  Syd- 
neyites  he  was  exceedingly  popular,  and  invitations  from 


126  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

the  fashionable  folks  were  forced  upon  him  to  such  an 
extent  that,  as  he  said,  he  "  had  to  classify  dem." 

Off  the  West  Indies  we  fell  in  with  a  whaler  fifty 
days  out  from  ISTew  Bedford.  He  had  been  successful, 
having  cut  in  and  tried  out  three  large  whales.  One 
fat  fellow  yielded  one  hundred  barrels  of  oil,  and  he  got 
the  same  quantity  from  a  cow  and  a  calf.  If  the  bull 
whale  is  iirst  struck  the  cow  never  leaves  him.  She 
stops  by  him  until  killed  herself.  The  calf,  of  course, 
follows.  The  iiffection  thus  displayed  by  the  female  is 
not  reciprocated  by  the  male,  for  the  instant  she  is 
struck  he  runs  away  like  a  great  coward,  not  even  giv- 
ing a  roar.  He  dives  deep  in  the  ocean,  not  daring  to 
come  up  to  blow  until  nature  compels  him  to. 

Having  arrived  off  the  Capes  of  Delaware,  we  took  a 
pilot  and  proceeded  as  far  as  Bombay  Hook,  where  we 
anchored  at  4  p.m.,  the  wind  and  tide  being  against  us. 
The  captain  and  passengers  went  ashore  to  get  a  con- 
veyance for  Philadelphia.  It  was  too  cold  and  weari- 
some a  journey  to  take  the  boy  Rogers  with  them. 
They  did  not  dream  for  a  moment  that  any  harm  could 
befall  him.  We  had  just  finished  supper  and  congratu- 
lated ourselves  at  having  arrived  safely  in  the  Delaware, 
when  an  evil  genius  said, 

"  Boys,  do  you  know  this  is  Friday  night?'* 

This  utterance  fell  like  a  knell  upon  our  spirits,  l^one 
of  us  had  forgotten,  but  we  did  not  like  to  be  reminded 
of  it  so  near  home.  Of  course  we  were  very  bold,  each 
trying  to  outboast  the  other.  We  were  all  feeling  hap- 
py, being  slightly  under  the  influence  of  a  "  warmer " 
administered  to  us  by  the  mate's  orders.      Even  the 


BATTALIO  S  THREAT.  129 

mate  seemed  happy,  though  we  never  saw  him  smile. 
Packing  up  what  dunnage  we  had,  so  as  to  be  ready  to 
go  ashore  tlie  next  day,  we  turned  in.  Eight  bells  hav- 
ing been  struck,  the  anchor  watch  was  set,  with  two  men 
in  it.  The  time  was  equally  divided  among  us,  and 
the  hours  between  eleven  and  one  fell  to  Joe  and  me. 
"When  we  thought  it  time  to  strike  seven  bells,  Joe  went 
aft  to  look  at  the  watch  which  was  hanging  in  the  bin- 
nacle, where  a  light  is  always  kept  at  night.  Presently 
he  came  running  forward,  and,  without  speaking  a  word, 
jumped  down  the  forecastle.  This  aroused  the  crew. 
Seeing  Joe  so  terror-stricken,  all  felt  sure  he  had  seen 
the  ghost.  But  he  said,  "  No  ;  Battalio  is  armed,  and  is 
going  to  murder  the  Rogers  boy." 

This  was  enough.  Ghosts  we  feared,  but  not  men. 
Reality  had  taken  the  place  of  imaginary  terrors.  In  a 
moment  we  were  on  deck,  fully  determined,  if  neces- 
sary, to  kill  Battalio  in  order  to  save  the  boy.  We  gath- 
ered around  his  door,  ready  to  strike  should  he  come 
out  of  his  room.  This  room  was  on  the  port  side  of  the 
coach-house.  The  door  directly  opposite  the  wheel  and 
binnacle  stood  wide  open,  and  a  light  was  burning  with- 
in. Battalio  was  standing  with  folded  arms,  his  back 
against  his  berth.  When  Joe  went  aft  to  look  at  the 
time,  he  found  him  in  this  position.  Seeing  Joe,  whom 
he  had  always  liked,  he  called  him  and  said, 

"  Joe,  you  see  this  knife  " — displaying  a  carving-knife 
sharpened  on  both  sides.  "  My  time  is  nearly  up.  This 
time  I  will  cut  both  sides" — pointing  to  his  throat — 
"  and  put  it  in  here  " — pointing  to  his  heart. 

With  this  he  threw  the  knife  on  his  bed  and  resumed 
6^ 


130  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

his  former  position.  Joe  wished  to  leave  him,  but  dared 
not,  for  fear  of  being  stabbed  if  he  turned. 

"  Joe,  is  it  nearly  one  o'clock  ?  At  that  time  I  must 
have  my  revenge,"  said  Battalio.  ''  You  and  I  were  al- 
ways good  friends.  You  are  a  Portuguese.  You  know 
that  in  your  country  death  awaits  the  scorner.  Though 
I  cannot  kill  her,  I  will  kill  her  offspring.  The  boy's 
room  is  next  to  Mr.  Hennessey's.  He  is  not  in  his  room 
to-night,  but  I  will  find  him." 

Joe  proposed  to  go  into  the  cabin  to  ascertain  where 
the  boy  slept.  Blittalio  said,  "  Go,"  upon  which  he  came 
forward.  When  we  went  aft  I  slipped  down  into  the 
cabin  through  the  window  in  the  fore  part  of  the  cuddy- 
house.  Waking  Mr.  Hennessey  cautiously,  I  told  him 
how  matters  were.  He  came  on  deck,  cutlass  in  hand, 
and  rushed  into  Battalio's  room  backed  by  the  crew, 
who  pinioned  the  desperate  man  before  he  could  grasp 
liis  knife.  This  room  had  been  formerly  occupied  by 
the  carpenter,  and  everything  was  taken  out  of  it  but 
the  carpenter's  clothes  -  chest.  A  thorough  search  was 
made  for  any  instrument  with  which  Battalio  could  do 
violence  to  himself  or  others.  The  door  was  then  locked 
and  the  light  put  out.  We  were  sent  below,  but  sleep 
was  out  of  the  question,  for  we  felt  that  something  must 
happen  before  morning.  About  5  a.m.  a  hail  came  from 
the  steamer  Ice-hreaker — 

"  St.  Lawrence,  ahoy !     Give  us  a  line !" 

We  never  jumped  more  nimbly  on  deck.  The  steam- 
er had  been  sent  down  by  the  captain  to  take  us  up  to 
the  city,  so  we  got  up  the  anchor  and  were  taken  in  tow. 
I  was  at  the  wheel  again.  An  early  breakfast  had  been 
ordered  for  seven  o'clock.    The  crew  were  below,  eating. 


DEATH   OF  BATTALIO.  131 

and  so  were  the  officers.  I  heard  a  noise  like  a  scuffle 
or  struggle,  attended  by  a  gurgling,  as  though  some  one 
were  choking.  I  left  the  wheel  for  an  instant,  ran  to 
the  cabin  door,  and  called  Mr.  Hennessey.  He  came  on 
deck  at  once  to  learn  the  trouble.  He  said  that  Battalio 
was  only  clearing  his  throat,  and  then  returned  to  his 
breakfast.  Everything  had  become  still  again.  The 
breakfast  was  over  and  1  was  about  to  be  relieved,  when 
the  steward  came  up  with  some  breakfast  for  Battalio. 
Finding  that  the  door  was  not  opened  at  his  call,  he  tried 
to  force  it.  Failing  in  this,  he  asked  me  to  help  him. 
To  our  united  efforts  it  yielded.  We  found  Battalio 
dead.  He  had  cut  his  throat  on  both  sides  and  had  dis- 
embowelled himself.  In  his  agony  he  had  bitten  off  the 
forefinger  of  his  right  hand  at  the  first  joint.  He  had 
found  in  the  carpenter's  chest  a  pocket-knife  with  a  bro- 
ken blade,  not  over  an  inch  and  a  half  long.  The  han- 
dle he  wrapped  in  cloth,  and  with  this  instrument  he 
ended  his  life.  When  we  arrived  at  the  city  the  body 
was  taken  ashore,  and  the  skeleton  was  placed  in  the 
Jefferson  College,  where"  it  still  remains.  Battalio  ac- 
complished his  destruction  one  hundred  and  thirty  days 
after  his  first  attempt.  I  have  never  learned  what  be- 
came of  young  Rogers  after  he  was  sent  to  his  friends 
in  Baltimore. 

So  ended  this  tragic  voyage.  Shortly  afterwards  the 
vessel  was  in  l^ew  Orleans,  where,  through  jealousy,  the 
steward  murdered  his  wife.  In  1855  or  1856,  when  in 
command  of  the  Dreadnought,  I  found  the  St.  Lawrence 
in  Liverpool,  turned  into  a  bark.  The  captain,  in  a  fit 
of  delirium  tremens,  had  committed  suicide.  Since  then 
I  have  not  heard  of  this  historically  unfortunate  ship. 


132  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Ships  that  I  served  in  as  Officer. — I  Lose  a  good  Berth  by  Falling  in 
Love. — The  English  Service  does  not  suit  me. 

After  a  month's  stay  in  Philadelphia,  Captain  Drinker 
recommended  me  to  Captain  Fairfoul  for  second  mate's 
berth  on  his  ship,  the  Henry  Pratt ^  bound  to  Liverpool 
from  New  York.  At  Liverpool  we  lay  along-side  the 
British  ship  Caledonia  in  the  Princess  Dock.  Her  cap- 
tain had  sailed  in  American  ships,  liked  our  discipline, 
and  offered  me  tlie  place  of  chief  officer.  My  captain 
did  not  stand  in  the  way  of  such  an  offer,  but  feared 
that  my  youthful  appearance  and  want  of  experience 
would  not  command  the  respect  of  the  sailors.  This  lat- 
ter doubt  I  told  him  he  might  dispel,  as  I  would  take 
care  of  that,  and  as  to  my  experience.  Captain  Pine  said 
he  was  quite  satisfied.  I  joined  his  ship.  She  belonged 
to  Fielding  Brothers  of  Liverpool,  and  for  those  days 
was  a  very  large  vessel — twelve  hundred  tons  register. 

We  sailed  for  New  York  with  eight  hundred  emi- 
grants. Before  we  were  out  of  the  channel  the  British 
tars  had  been  taught  Yankee  discipline,  and  after  this 
all  went  well.  The  captain's  wife  was  on  board — she 
always  travelled  with  him.  This  lady  was  proficient  in 
mathematics,  and  took  me  in  hand  to  finish  me  in  navi- 
gation. After  landing  our  passengers  in  New  York  we 
proceeded  to  Quebec,  and  took  a  cargo  of  timber  for 


I   FALL   IN   LOVE.  133 

London.  In  passing  through  the  Strait  of  Belle  Isle, 
on  our  way,  I  witnessed  a  most  gorgeous  sight ;  we 
passed  iceberg  after  iceberg,  for  a  distance  of  over  two 
hundred  miles.  In  London  the  captain  resigned  to  take 
charge  of  the  ship  William  Sharj>less,  a  large  India- 
man  due  from  Bombay.  I  left  the  Caledonia  to  go 
with  him.  In  a  short  time  my  money  gave  out,  and  I 
could  wait  no  longer,  so  he  recommended  me  to  Cap- 
tain Legg,  who  commanded  the  ship  Royal  Consort,  be- 
longing to  Sir  Henry  Metcalf.  She  w^as  lying  in  the 
East  India  docks  dismantled.  I  joined  her  as  chief 
officer,  and  fitted  her  out  for  an  India  voyage  via 
Australia  with  convicts,  but  did  not  go  in  her.  The 
captain's  daughter  was  to  make  the  voyage  with  him. 
She  had  heard  Mrs.  Pine,  who  was  at  the  same  hotel, 
speak  of  me  in  such  terms  that  when  slie  visited  the 
ship  she  looked  at  me  particularly.  Our  eyes  met,  and 
Mrs.  Pine  did  the  rest  by  asking  me  to  dine  at  the  hotel 
the  next  Sunday.  Being  young  and  full  of  romance, 
and  she  as  beautiful  as  a  picture,  I  lost  no  opportunity 
to  show  how  very  agreeable  I  could  make  myself  to  her. 
Her  father  pretended  not  to  see  this,  but  he  had  other 
fish  to  angle  for,  so  on  the  morning  of  our  sailing-day 
he  called  me  into  his  cabin,  and  said, 

"  Mr.  Samuels,  I  have  the  highest  regard  for  you.  You 
have  before  you  a  brilliant  career,  and  I  hope  some  day 
to  see  you  at  the  top  of  your  profession.  Until  then, 
however,  much  as  I  regret  the  loss  of  an  officer  like 
yourself,  we  must  part  company.  My  daughter  is  an 
only  child.  She  lost  her  mother  when  she  was  very 
young.     She  is  all  and  all  to  me,  and  I  cannot  part  with 


134  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

her  yet.  When  you  are  a  few  years  older,  and  have 
obtained  a  rank  suitable  to  place  her  in,  you  may  see 
me  again.  As  it  might  seem  strange  that  you  should 
leave  my  ship  so  suddenly  just  as  we  are  about  to  sail, 
here  is  a  document  that  will  get  you  a  ship  at  any 
time." 

During  this  interview  the  temperature  of  my  blood 
changed  between  hot  and  cold  maybe  every  second. 
Those  who  have  been  truly  smitten  for  the  first  time, 
and  have  had  their  hopes  so  unexpectedly  dashed,  can 
understand  how  I  felt.  My  pleadings  were  useless,  he 
was  inexorable.  I  could  not  have  an  interview  with  her. 
He  thought  it  best  not.  He  had  arranged  for  her  to 
come  on  board  at  Gravesend.  He  said  that  I  need  not 
follow  her,  as  I  should  not  be  permitted  to  see  her.  He 
had  taken  precautions  to  prevent  our  meeting.  I  will 
discontinue  this  subject,  as  I  do  not  propose  to  write 
my  love  ventures;  they  would  read  too  nmch  like  ro- 
mance. Some  lady  readers  might  wish  me  to  proceed, 
but  others  might  say,  "  Close  your  volume ;  'tis  large 
enough."  Sad  and  broken-hearted  I  left  the  ship  for 
my  boarding-house,  and  thence  I  went  to  my  good 
friend  Mrs.  Pine  for  consolation.  Only  the  sweet  sym- 
pathetic voice  of  a  woman  can  save  a  man  under  such 
affliction.  (This  good  lady  had  the  misfortune  some 
time  later  to  lose  one  of  the  best  husbands  ever  allotted 
to  wife.  In  London,  years  afterwards,  I  had  the  pleasure 
of  seeing  her  prosperously  engaged  in  teaching  a  school 
for  navigation.)  For  a  few  days  I  was  entirely  unfitted 
to  do  anything  but  mope.  Then  Captain  Pine  sent  for 
me  and  told  me  to  meet  him  at  the  Jerusalem  Coffee- 


AN   englishman's  PREROGATIVE.  135 

house,  a  great  resort  for  captains.  Here  lie  introduced 
me  to  Captain  Stewart  of  the  ship  Leander,  He  was 
loading  for  New  Orleans,  and  engaged  me  to  go  with 
him.  She  was  lying  in  the  dock  at  Blackwall,  where 
she  had  discharged  a  cargo  of  lumber.  I  did  not  like 
her  much ;  she  was  a  "  blue-nose,"  built  as  they  all  are 
in  the  cheapest  and  flimsiest  manner,  of  unseasoned 
timber,  iron  fastened,  in  the  expectation  of  being  sold 
to  the  underwriters.  This  is  the  class  of  ships  some  of 
our  Western  members  of  Congress  are  clamoring  for  us 
to  have  the  privilege  of  flying  the  American  flag  over. 
I  took  my  dunnage  on  board  the  Leander  and  sailed  for 
l^ew  Orleans.  There  I  left  the  ship.  The  English 
service  did  not  suit  me ;  neither  did  the  pay  and  disci- 
pline. In  an  English  ship  Jack  is  as  good  as  his  mas- 
ter, and  he  is  a  chronic  growler.  This  does  not  suit 
American  ideas.  I  was  in  a  constant  turmoil  with  the 
men,  and  the  captain  generally  sided  with  them.  An 
Englishman's  prerogative  is  to  grumble,  but  we  break 
him  of  the  habit  after  his  head  has  come  in  contact  with 
a  belaying-pin  a  few  times. 

I  now  changed  ships  as  chief  officer  frequently.  First 
I  made  a  voyage  in  the  ship  Metoka^  with  Captain 
McLarren,  to  Liverpool  and  return ;  then  on  the  Rock- 
all^  with  Captain  Evans,  to  the  same  port  and  return ; 
then  on  the  Yicksburg  to  New  York;  from  here  on 
the  Wabash  to  New  Orleans  and  return ;  and  once  more 
on  the  Rockall  and  return. 

On  this  last  voyage  home  I  met  the  lady  who  subse- 
quently became  my  wife.  My  next  voyage  was  to  New 
Orleans  and  back  in  the  Jessore^y^\\\i  Captain  Putnam. 


136  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

I  then  married,  and  made  another  voyage  in  the  same 
ship  to  London  and  return. 

The  refining  influence  and  Christian  gentleness  of  mj 
wife  softened  my  turbulent  nature.  When  a  sailor  is 
well  mated  he  is  the  happiest  man  alive.  His  wife  can 
guide  him  with  a  silken  thread ;  whereas,  in  his  single 
state,  a  chain-cable  cannot  hold  him. 

I  now  made  a  voyage  in  the  Independence^  with  Cap- 
tain Allen,  to  Liverpool  and  return  ;  then  three  voyages 
with  Captain  Edwards  in  the  Angelique  to  Amsterdam. 
It  will  be  seen  that  I  sailed  with  the  greatest  martinets 
of  their  day,  and  as  they  were  considered  among  the 
best  seamen  afloat,  I  received  a  good  training.  To  write 
sketches  of  the  various  incidents  on  board  the  many 
ships  I  have  sailed  in  would  fill  a  large  volume. 


THE   DUTCH   EAST   INDIA   COMPANY.  137 


CHAPTER  X. 

A  Captain  at  Twenty-one. — A  Fight  between  Sailors  and  Marines 
in  a  Dutcli  Port.— Dousing  and  Flogging  for  the  Ringleader. — I 
have  a  Verbal.  Tilt  with  our  Consul  at  Genoa. — Among  the  Isles 
of  Greece. 

I  LEFT  New  York  as  chief  officer  of  the  ship  Man- 
hattan, corainanded  by  Captain  Carroll,  bound  for  Am- 
sterdam, and  arrived  at  Nieuwe-Diep  after  a  twenty- three 
days'  passage  which  was  void  of  any  special  incident. 
We  hauled  into  the  I^orth  Holland  canal,  and  were  tak- 
en in  tow  by  horses  ranging  in  numbers  from  four  to 
eighty,  according  to  the  strength  of  the  wind  for  or 
against  us.  The  canal  which  led  to  the  famous  old  city 
was  wide  enough  to  allow  the  largest  Dutch  Indiamen 
of  fourteen  hundred  tons  to  pass  one  another.  These 
splendid  ships  were  chartered  by  the  Dutch  East  India 
Company.  Each  vessel  received  a  number  which  enti- 
tled her  to  a  charter  in  turn.  Arriving  after  a  voyage, 
she  would  be  stripped  and  laid  up  until  her  turn  came 
again  for  a  voyage  to  Batavia — the  island  of  Java  being 
the  principal  colonial  possession  of  the  Dutch.  This 
was  the  only  nation  the  Japanese  would  trade  with. 
Two  ships  a  year  was  the  limit  allowed,  and  the  crews 
of  these  were  not  permitted  to  land.  Commodore  Per- 
ry's famous  treaty  opened  the  ports  of  Japan  to  the  out- 


138  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

side  world,  and  the  Dutch  thereby  lost  the  monopoly  so 
long  enjoyed. 

Arriving  at  Amsterdam  we  entered  the  entrepot  dock, 
where  I  was  quite  at  home,  having  made  several  voy- 
ages to  this  port  from  New  York  as  chief  mate  of  the 
ship  Angelique,  under  Captain  John  Edwards.  At  Am- 
sterdam our  crew  deserted,  and  Captain  Carroll  resigned. 
It  was  understood  between  us  that  he  should  do  so  be- 
fore w^e  left  home.  He  did  not  care  to  make  long  voy- 
ages, which  were  to  be  the  business  of  the  ship  in  fut- 
ure. So  here  I  was  at  twenty-one  years  of  age,  married, 
the  father  of  a  child,  and  the  nominal  owner  and  actual 
captain  of  a  full-rigged  ship,  with  an  entire  Dutch  crew, 
including  officers,  bound  for  Genoa  with  a  cargo  of  re- 
fined sugar,  and  thence  to  Constantinople  or  Odessa,  as 
my  judgment  of  the  freight  market  should  dictate. 

Though  young  in  years,  the  hardships  I  had  endured 
to  arrive  at  the  top  of  my  profession  made  me  appear 
much  older  than  I  was.  Let  not  the  young  man  who 
intends  to  follow  the  sea  think  that  his  promotion  is 
likely  to  be  as  speedy  as  mine,  for  not  one  out  of  a  thou- 
sand would  be  so  fortunate  as  I  was,  or  be  able  to  en- 
dure the  rough  usage  I  went  through  and  live ;  nor  do 
the  same  opportunities  present  themselves  at  this  day. 

The  ship  was  now  loaded  and  manned  by  a  Dutch 
crew  (Americans  were  not  to  be  had),  consisting  of  ten 
men,  two  ordinaries,  two  boys,  cook,  steward,  and  two 
officers.  Any  one  would  suppose  from  our  language 
that  she  was  a  Dutch  ship.  The  first  part  of  the  voyage 
was  not  pleasant  for  the  men  or  myself,  I  not  being  used 
to  the  slow  movements  of  the  Dutch  sailor  when  an  or- 


"BULLY  EDWARDS.'  141 

der  was  given.  To  drill  these  men  to  American  agility 
in  handling  canvas  and  working  ship  produced  much 
unpleasantness  between  us,  but  before  the  end  of  the 
voyage  I  felt  quite  proud  of  my  handiwork.  I  had 
learned  to  speak  very  fair  Dutch,  and  they  to  work  ship 
by  orders  given  in  English. 

Passing  through  the  canal  on  my  way  to  sea,  I  found 
myself  at  Nieuwe-Diep,  a  place  which  will  always  be  mem- 
orable to  me  because  of  an  incident  which  I  will  now 
relate.  It  occurred  at  a  time  when  I  was  chief  mate  of 
the  packet-ship  Catharine^  under  Captain  John  Edwards. 
It  was  Sunday  morning.  After  the  decks  had  been 
thoroughly  scrubbed,  and  the  flags  set  in  honor  of  the 
day,  and  after  the  men  had  breakfasted,  all  hands  got 
liberty  to  go  ashore  and  enjoy  themselves.  They  were 
not  allowed  any  spending  money  for  fear  of  their  get- 
ting drunk,  but  Jack  always  manages  to  get  rum,  though 
he  has  to  sell  his  shirt  off  his  back.  Our  crew  happened 
to  be  a  pretty  hard  set,  and  they  proved  a  perfect  ter- 
ror to  the  peaceable  Dutchmen.  Before  they  had  been 
long  ashore  there  was  general  consternation  in  the  town. 
About  two  o'clock  two  of  them  came  on  board,  and  in 
a  few  minutes  they  began  to  quarrel  over  their  dinner, 
and  fought.  I  was  in  the  cabin  at  the  time,  and  the 
steward  called  my  attention  to  the  trouble.  Our  cap- 
tain, nicknamed  ''  Bully  Edwards,''  forbade  me  to  inter- 
fere, for  he  would  rather  see  a  fight  than  eat  his  dinner. 
At  this  moment  I  saw  *'  French  Peter  "  coming  over  the 
gangway.  The  reader  is  already  acquainted  with  him. 
He  was  the  same  who  had  been  my  chum  in  the  United 
States  service.      I  had  loved  him  for  his  seamanship, 


142  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

bravery,  and  magnificent  physique ;  he  was  one  of  the 
handsomest  men  I  had  ever  seen.  Sober,  he  was  gentle 
as  a  kitten  ;  drunk,  he  was  a  brute.  Seeing  him  go  for- 
ward wdiere  the  fight  was  going  on,  I  knew  he  would 
have  a  hand  in  it.  I  started  after  him,  and  reached  him 
just  as  he  was  raising  his  sheath-knife  to  stab  the  upper 
of  the  combatants.  I  seized  his  wrist.  Turning  in- 
stantly, he  saw  it  was  I,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  thought  you 
were  nnderneath,  so  I  wanted  to  kill  that  fellow."  In 
his  drunken  rage  his  mind  had  carried  him  back  to  the 
time  when  we  were  both  in  the  forecastle,  and  on  one 
of  our  occasional  larks.  He  obeyed  my  orders  to  go 
below  and  turn  in. 

The  two  men  fought  till  they  were  sober,  when  the 
captain  told  them  to  wash  themselves,  as  they  were  cov- 
ered with  blood  and  badly  punished.  At  this  juncture 
we  saw  some  of  our  crew  driven  to  the  ship  by  marines 
frorn  the  guardship,  followed  by  the  villagers  with  clubs 
and  sticks.  These  phlegmatic  people,  if  they  "  get  their 
Dutch  up,"  know  how  to  defend  themselves  when  im- 
posed upon.  Our  men  had  not  been  satisfied  with  get- 
ting all  the  gin  free  of  charge,  but  had  created  a  riot. 
The  burgomaster,  not  having  sufficient  force  to  suppress 
it,  had  called  upon  the  navy  for  assistance,  and  with  this 
help  our  men  were  driven  on  board  in  a  very  battered 
condition. 

The  commandant  demanded  the  ringleader,  as  lie  had 
struck  and  wounded  one  of  his  officers.  After  some 
parley  with  the  American  consul  (resident  at  Amster- 
dam, but  now  a  passenger  on  our  ship),  it  was  decided 
to  allow  the  authorities  to  take  him  ashore,  with  the  un- 


THE  KIOT   ACT   READ   ON   BOARD.  143 

derstanding  that  lie  should  be  returned  to  the  ship  when 
we  were  ready  to  sail.  The  arrest  being  permitted, 
twenty  marines  with  two  officers  came  on  board  to  take 
the  man.  They  had  scarcel}'-  got  as  far  as  the  foremast 
when  our  whole  crew  rushed  at  them  from  the  fore- 
castle, armed  with  handspikes  and  heavers.  The  move- 
ment was  so  unsuspected  by  the  marines  that  they  be- 
came demoralized  and  landed  in  disorder.  The  whole 
scene  was  witnessed  from  the  guardship,  lying  at  the 
dike  close  under  our  stern,  and  a  reinforcement  of  one 
hundred  men,  headed  by  the  captain  of  marines  came 
on  board  and  demanded  the  surrender  once  more.  The 
burgomaster,  wdio  was  still  on  board  of  us,  here  stepped 
a  few  feet  forward  (we  were  all  on  the  quarter-deck)  and 
read  the  riot  act,  after  which  the  marines  were  divided 
into  two  squads,  one  on  either  side  of  the  ship,  faced 
forward,  and  ordered  to  load.  Matters  had  assumed  a 
serious  aspect,  and  as  the  law  was  on  the  side  of  the  au- 
thorities, 1  was  sure  they  would  exercise  their  power 
after  the  insult  they  had  received. 

The  crew  w^as  called  to  surrender,  but  no  response  was 
given.  Fearing  a  massacre,  I  volunteered  to  bring  aft 
the  ringleader,  and  consent  being  given  by  the  com- 
mandant, who  had  just  boarded  us,  I  went  forward  to 
the  forecastle  and  harangued  the  men  in  a  few  words  on 
the  untenable  position  they  had  taken.  I  then  called  to 
French  Peter,  who  obeyed  me  reluctantl}^,  and  one  after 
another  followed,  until  all  had  come  forward  except  the 
ringleader.  Jack,  an  Englishman,  who  had  been  the 
cause  of  the  whole  trouble.  This  man  was  a  turbulent 
and  quarrelsome  fellow,  and  when  in  liquor  quite  des- 


144  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

perate ;  but  we  officers  can  forgive  anything  in  a  man 
if  he  is  a  good  sailor.  His  quarrelsome  disposition  we 
can  manage ;  and  Jack  and  I  had  had  an  understanding 
with  each  other  before  he  had  been  on  board  half  an 
hour  after  leaving  'New  York.  He  had  proved  a  splen- 
did sailor,  and  was  therefore  one  of  my  favorites.  I 
could  not  stand  bj  and  see  him  killed  (which,  without 
my  intervention,  he  certainly  would  have  been)  without 
an  effort  to  save  him.  Returning  to  the  forecastle  soon 
after  having  secured  the  crew  in  the  deck-house,  I  called 
on  Jack  to  come  out.  He  made  no  reply.  The  com- 
mandant, becoming  impatient,  ordered  two  of  his  offi- 
cers and  six  men  to  join  me.  The  ship  had  a  top-gal- 
lant forecastle  in  which  were  the  quarters  of  the  crew. 
As  the  place  was  very  dark,  the  soldiers  entered  with 
fixed  bayonets,  the  officers  with  drawn  swords. 

Knowing  that  Jack  was  armed  with  his  sheath-knife, 
they  did  not  intend  to  let  him  use  it.  Gradually  be- 
coming accustomed  to  the  dark  forecastle,  they  prodded 
the  berths,  block-lockers,  and  other  places  where  a  man 
could  stow  himself.  He  was  discovered  under  the  heel 
of  the  bowsprit,  and  was  badly  wounded  in  several 
places  before  he  made  an  outcry.  When  brought  on 
deck  he  was  covered  with  blood ;  his  shirt  had  been  torn 
off  in  the  struggle  to  secure  him.  As  he  was  being  led 
aft,  he  freed  himself  from  the  guard,  and  seizing  a  heav- 
er, defied  them  to  take  him,  swearing  that  he  would  not 
be  taken  alive.  He  was  between  the  water-casks  and 
the  rail.  I  was  standing  on  the  former,  watching  a 
chance  to  seize  him,  and  he  noticed  me.  The  order 
from  the  commandant  to  "  Present  arms ;  take  aim," 


JACK  TKIED  BY  A  DUTCH  COURT-MARTIAL.         145 

drew  his  attention,  and  I  took  advantage  of  the  moment 
by  jumping  upon  him  from  my  elevated  position.  This 
prevented  him  from  using  the  heaver,  and  my  weight 
and  strengtli  overpowered  him  not  an  instant  too  soon 
to  save  his  life. 

When  Peter  heard  the  threat  that  Jack  would  brain 
me,  he  burst  open  the  deck-house  door,  in  front  of  which 
our  struggle  was  taking  place,  just  as  Jack  was  getting 
away  from  me. 

As  he  was  nearly  naked,  and  reeking  with  blood  and 
perspiration,  I  could  not  hold  him  alone.  Peter's  iron 
gripe  on  his  throat  kept  him  quiet  until  I  handcuffed 
him.  Had  he  got  away  from  us  he  undoubtedly  would 
have  been  shot,  as  I  had  heard  the  order  in  Dutch,  "  Kill 
him,  kill  him." 

After  being  secured  he  was  taken  on  board  the  guard- 
ship  and  double -ironed,  and  a  guard  was  placed  over 
him.  The  following  morning  he  was  tried  by  a  court- 
martial  and  condemned  to  be  dipped  (keelhauling  being 
impracticable,  as  the  water  was  too  shallow  along-side), 
and  to  receive  three  dozen  lashes.  This  inhuman  and 
brutal  punishment  is  no  longer  practised  in  our  navy. 
Directly  after  sentence  had  been  pronounced  he  was 
taken  to  the  port  gangway.  A  gauntline  had  been  rove 
through  a  block  on  the  main -yard,  which  was  braced 
forward  enough  to  allow  the  gauntline  to  clear  the  ship's 
side  some  six  feet.  A  piece  of  kentledge  about  four 
hundred  pounds  in  weight,  taken  out  of  the  ship's  bal- 
last, had  been  brought  on  deck.  In  each  end  of  it  was 
a  hole,  through  which  a  rope  was  rove  and  knotted  un- 
derneath. The  ends  of  the  rope  were  brought  up  and 
7 


146  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

fastened  to  the  gaiiiitline,  and  he  was  well  secured  be- 
tween, a  wooden  stretcher  keeping  the  lines  taut  and 
close  to  his  sides.  He  was  then  placed  on  a  grating, 
stripped  to  the  waist,  head  and  body  bent  down,  with 
his  thumbs  fastened  to  the  pin -rail,  and  he  thus  re- 
ceived his  first  dozen  lashes.  The  crew  then  ran  him 
up  to  the  yard,  whence  he  was  dropped  overboard, 
striking  the  bottom  in  his  descent.  They  then  took  him 
on  board,  the  second  dozen  were  given  him,  and  he  was 
again  run  up  to  the  yard  and  dropped.  After  the  third 
dose  he  was  carried  below  in  a  fainting  condition  to  be 
washed  in  pickle.  His  back  presented  a  sickening  sight. 
The  blood  had  begun  to  flow  at  the  third  lash,  and  by 
the  time  the  punishment  was  Completed  the  poor  fellow 
was  nearly  flayed.  Few  men  ever  recover  from  the  ef- 
fects of  a  punishment  like  this.  The  victims  are  usual- 
ly carried  off  by  kidney  disease  or  by  consumption. 

The  following  day  we  were  notified  that  if  we  wished 
we  might  have  our  man.  Onr  captain  refused  to  take 
him,  but  the  American  Consul  sent  him  to  the  hospital. 

The  man-of-war's-men  cannot  be  too  grateful  to  the 
humanitarians  and  the  public  press  for  their  successful 
efforts  in  having  the  laws  permitting  flogging  in  the 
navy  and  army  expunged  from  the  statute-books  of  the 
United  States.  That  cruelty  like  that  above  described 
would  be  permitted  by  the  staid  and  honest  Dutchmen 
few  w^onld  credit,  yet  I  have  seen  branding  and  flogging 
in  their  public  places  for  petty  larceny.  But  I  have  not 
been  in  IloUand  since  1852,  and  laws  and  customs  change 
in  a  third  of  a  century.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  understood  as 
pointing  out  the  Dutch  as  a  people  especially  cruel — far 


ON  THE   WAY  TO   GENOA.  147 

from  it.  I  have  found  them  the  fairest  dealing  nation 
on  the  earth,  and  shall  always  love  them  for  many  rea- 
sons, particularly  for  their  prompt  sympathy  and  help 
during  the  struggle  to  save  our  Union.  They  were  the 
first  to  show  confidence  in  our  national  integrity,  and 
believed  that  the  w^ar  would  end  in  cementing  the  per- 
manent union  of  our  country,  where  none  are  born 
rulers,  and  where  all  peoples  of  the  earth  look  for  free 
air  to  breathe. 

I  must  be  pardoned  for  occasional  digression ;  a  ship 
cannot  always  sail  the  course  laid  down.  But  as  I  am 
not  writing  the  history  of  the  Dutch,  I  will  proceed  with 
my  voyage  to  Genoa. 

With  a  rattling  north-easter  we  bade  good-by  to  our 
friends.  I  felt,  as  any  young  fellow  would  feel,  not  only 
the  importance  of  my  place,  but  my  own  importance. 
I  felt  just  at  that  time  that  if  all  the  Yon  Tromps,  Nel- 
sons, Decaturs,  and  Hulls  were  condensed  into  one  man, 
he  would  not  be  my  equal  at  handling  and  navigating  a 
ship.  But  the  lesson  was  taught  me  before  this  voyage 
I  now  describe  was  completed,  and  I  have  profited  by 
it  ever  since,  that  it  is  never  wise  to  be  sure  of  our  po- 
sition, or  to  feel  that  we  have  nothing  to  learn.  With 
everything  set  that  would  draw,  including  the  starboard 
studding-sail,  w^e  crossed  the  North  Sea,  and  so  went 
through  the  Strait  of  Dover  and  out  of  the  English 
Channel  without  touching  a  brace  except  to  tauten  it. 
I  established  a  rule  for  myself  never  to  turn  in  at  night 
while  at  sea  except  during  a  calm.  By  daylight  the  ship- 
master can  trust  his  officers  to  carry  sail,  but  if  he  wants 
to  make  a  quick  passage  he  must  keep  the  deck  himself 


148     FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

at  night,  when  it  requires  nerve  to  drive  the  ship  to  lier 
utmost  speed,  without  losing  her  sails  or  carrying  away 
her  spars.  Any  lubber  can  do  the  latter,  but  it  re- 
quires good  judgment  and  pluck  to  do  the  former. 

After  a  rapid  and  delightful  passage,  we  entered  the 
harbor  of  Genoa  at  sunrise.  The  scene  was  bewilder- 
ingly  beautiful,  and  the  reader  may  judge  of  my  high 
spirits  as  I  came  upon  it.  The  conformation  of  the 
port  is  that  of  a  semicircle,  the  Apennines  forming  the 
background  of  an  amphitheatre — the  harbor  (an  arti- 
ficial one)  the  stage  ;  the  ships  the  actors ;  the  auditorium 
the  metropolis,  with  the  palaces  dotted  here  and  there 
through  the  city,  which  rises  from  the  water  and  as- 
cends towards  the  grand  mountains  beyond ;  the  tout 
ensemble  gives  one  the  impression  of  a  gorgeous  spec- 
tacular drama,  especially  to  the  traveller  who  has  read 
the  history  of  this  noted  place.  After  shaving  myself 
to  raise  a  beard— that  emblem  of  a  lord  of  creation — I 
dressed  with  scrupulous  neatness,  hoping  to  impress  our 

consul,  Mr.  L ,  with  the  dignity  of  my  appearance. 

Arriving  at  the  consulate  with  my  ship's  papers,  I  was 
shown  into  the  office.     Before  me  I  saw  a  very  hand- 
some man,  who  eyed  me  at  first  with  some  curiosity, 
and  then,  it  seemed  to  me,  with  a  good  deal  of  imperti- 
nence,    I  asked  him,  with  all  the  assurance  1  had, 
"  Are  you  the  American  Consul  ?" 
Giving  me  an  Irish  answer,  he  inquired, 
"  And  pray,  by  whom  have  I  the  pleasure  of  being 
addressed  T 

I  answered,  with  my  blood  somewhat  stirred,  "  By  a 
gentleman  just  arrived  from  Amsterdam  with  a  cargo 


A   VERBAL  TILT  WITH   OPR  WNSUli   AtP'^'s^'b.^.     151 

of  sugar  consigned  to  Messrs.  Giglio  Brotliers  <&;  Co.,  and 
if  you  are  the  consul,  which  I  hope  you  are  not,  you 
will  please  receipt  for  my  register  and  articles,  and  let 
me  depart  without  delay." 

My  short  answer  brought  him  to  his  feet ;  I,  in  the 
mean  while,  had  been  standing. 

"  What  do  you  mean,  sir,  by  hoping  I  am  not  the 
consul  ?"  he  asked. 

''  I  mean  that  I  expected  to  find  a  gentleman,  and 
should  not  like  to  be  disappointed." 

For  a  few  moments  our  further  conversation  was  too 
forcible  to  be  set  down  here.  He  tried  to  intimidate 
me  by  starting  to  draw  his  sword,  but  he  was  not  success- 
ful. He  little  knew  then  the  history  of  my  early  training, 
though  he  learned  it  afterwards,  as  I  did  his.  He  was  a 
good  fellow,  after  all,  and  we  became  fairly  good  friends. 

During  the  afternoon,  while  the  ship  was  being  dis- 
charged, I  enjoyed  myself  with  an  occasional  ride  over 
the  grounds,  and  visited  the  natural  grotto  which  Byron 
was  wont  to  frequent.  This  great  genius  spent  hours 
in  meditation,  receiving  inspirations  from  this  enchant- 
ing cave,  listening  to  the  music  of  the  purling  stream, 
and  inhaling  the  sweet  fragrance  of  flowers  clustered 
around  in  wild'  profusion.  The  guide  I  occasionally 
had  as  companion  related  many  incidents  of  the  poet's 
life  and  habits  during  his  stay  in  Italy.  As  this  man 
had  been  his  valet,  his  anecdotes  had  a  charm  for  me. 
I  also  took  in  the  grand  old  churches  and  palaces,  the 
upper  stories  of  the  latter  mostly  occupied  by  nobles, 
while  the  lower  floors  in  many  cases  were  given  up  to 
plebeians  in  the  lowest  walks  of  life. 


152  ,  •'.  ;  ?«!0'AI;  T^EjIOKEqiKSTIlE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

The  opera,  however,  was  my  passion.  1  never  lost  an 
opportunity  to  visit  the  temple  of  the  muse  of  song. 

Many  of  the  streets  in  Genoa  are  so  narrow  that  a 
good  fat  monk  would  bar  the  way  and  compel  a  way- 
farer to  step  into  a  door-way  to  allow  him  to  pass. 

The  queerest  scenes  to  me  were  the  muleteers,  with 
from  two  to  four  mules  each,  laden  with  wine  in  goat- 
skins slung  on  each  side.  They  always  claimed  the 
right  of  way,  and  took  it,  pedestrians  turning  the  corner 
as  though  they  had  business  in  another  street. 

My  ship  was  discharged  and  ballasted,  and  we  ran  out. 
I  had  a  letter  of  credit  from  my  owner  for  thirty  thou- 
sand dollars  to  purchase  a  cargo  of  grain  if  I  thought 
proper.  (This  was  the  year  of  the  famine  and  high 
freights.)  We  ran  down  the  Gulf  of  Genoa,  passing 
Corsica  and  Elba — the  former  the  birthplace  and  the  lat- 
ter the  temporary  prison  of  Napoleon,  whose  grave  I 
had  visited  at  St.  Helena  —  and  entered  the  Grecian 
Archipelago  through  the  Cerigo  Channel,  Greece  at  our 
left,  Candia  at  our  right.  At  Milo  it  was  the  habit  for 
strangers  to  take  Greek  pilots,  but  I  omitted  to  take 
one,  preferring  to  save  the  expense,  and  feeling  quite  able 
to  pilot  my  ship  alone.  We  passed  through  the  Zea 
Channel,  with  Cape  Colonna,  in  front  of  which  is  situated 
the  islet  of  Micronisi,  on  our  left,  and  on  our  right  the 
Zea  Island.  We  had  scarcely  run  out  of  this  when  we 
entered  the  Doro  Strait,  between  Negropont  and  the  isl- 
and of  Andros,  where  we  encountered  a  "  Levanter,"  as 
the  fierce  storms  in  these  regions  are  named.  Those 
experienced  can  always  foretell  the  Levanter's  approach. 
It  comes  from  the  north-east,  blowing  with  great  fury, 


A  TRIAL   OF  SPEED.  153 

and  lasting  in  the  winter  season  generally  about  seventy- 
two  hours.  The  one  I  speak  of  caught  us  at  night  as  we 
were  trying  to  beat  through  the  strait  in  company  with 
a  large  ship  that  I  afterwards  learned  was  the  Johann 
Sehmitt,  of  Hamburg,  formerly  the  American  ship  Echo. 
This  vessel  I  knew,  as  I  had  met  her  in  New  Orleans 
when  she  was  under  our  colors.  As  she  was  a  fast  ves- 
sel, I  was  glad  of  the  opportunity  to  measure  speed  with 
her.  It  was  sharp  work  for  us,  but  before  morning  we 
lost  sight  of  her  to  leeward. 
7* 


154  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Caught  in  a  Levanter  in  the  Grecian  Archipelago. — I  do  a  Stroke  of 
Seamanship  which  attracts  Attention  Aboard  two  English  Brigs. 
— Sir  Edmund  Lyons,  British  Minister  to  Greece,  accepts  a  Cigar 
from  me  and  praises  my  Countrymen,— I  Return  the  Compliment 
by  a  Piece  of  Foolhardiness  and  by  Showing  my  Heels  to  his  two 
Brigs. 

Daylight  found  us  through  the  strait  and  in  the 
^gean  Sea  under  double-reefed  sails,  trying  to  work  to 
windward.  The  gale  increased  as  the  day  advanced. 
At  noon  we  were  under  close  reefs,  with  tlie  current 
against  us,  and  were  dropping  fast  to  leeward,  back  tow- 
ards the  strait.  Before  dark  we  put  our  hehn  up,  and 
ran  back  under  IS^egropont,  where  we  hung  on  till  day- 
light, hoping  the  gale  would  abate.  The  day  brought 
us  no  relief ;  on  the  contrary,  the  storm  increased.  We 
managed,  however,  as  the  water  was  smootli,  to  keep  her 
under  the  land.  We  could  not  anchor,  the  water  being 
too  deep.  The  day  presented  a  most  gloomy  appear- 
ance. Though  we  were  surrounded  by  islands,  none  w^ere 
in  sight.  The  horizon  was  narrowed  down  to  within  a 
few  ships'  lengths  of  us.  Our  salvation  depended  upon 
our  holding  on  under  the  point.  To  leeward  was  a  sheet 
of  white  foam.  Night  came  on,  and  a  dreadful  one  it 
was.  Had  we  been  blown  off  we  certainly  would  have 
perished.  All  hands  were  on  deck  all  night,  working 
ship.     Now  for  the' first  time  I  felt  that  I  should  have 


CAPE   COLONNA.  155 

taken  a  pilot,  and  that  I  did  not  know  as  niQcli  as  I  sup- 
posed I  did. 

When  day  broke  all  were  exhausted.  A  harbor  I 
must  find  before  night,  at  all  hazard.  To  the  leeward 
lay  the  nearest  refuge,  Cape  Colonna.  Under  this  cape 
— noted  as  a  famous  resort  of  Greek  pirates — was  the 
only  anchorage  to  be  had.  The  danger  in  reaching  it 
lay  in  passing  Micronisi,  as  I  had  to  keep  it  close  on 
board  to  luff  around  its  end.  If  we  gave  it  too  wide  a 
berth  we  could  not  fetch  the  cape.  To  beat  to  wind- 
ward was  impossible  under  the  canvas  w^e  could  show. 
But  the  attempt  must  be  made,  as  we  could  hold  on  no 
longer  where  we  were. 

Taking  a  good  departure,  we  squared  away  before  the 
wind  under  close- reefed  topsail  and  foresail,  steering  di- 
rect for  Micronisi.  Negropont  was  out  of  sight  astern. 
We  were  scarcely. away  from  under  the  lee  of  the  land 
when  we  were  surrounded  by  a  sea  of  hissing  foam — the 
storm  was  too  violent  to  let  the  sea  rise.  The  ship  was 
fairly  flying  through  the  water  to  a  place  either  of  safe- 
ty or  destruction.  Two  hours  would  decide  our  fate. 
Both  anchors  were  ready  to  let  go.  A  dark  ridge  was 
discovered  close  under  our  bow ;  its  appearance  was 
that  of  a  half -tide  rock,  with  the  water  breaking  over  it. 
Starboarding  our  helm,  we  found  ourselves  running  along 
the  wished -for  islet.  The  main -land  inside,  less  than 
half  a  mile  distant,  was  not  discernible,  so  thick  was  the 
weather.  We  at  once  ran  up  the  jib  and  maintop-mast- 
stay  sail,  and  braced  up  the  yards  on  the  starboard  tack, 
ready  for  luflang,  to  shoot  across  for  the  point  of  the  isl- 
and and  fetch  the  anchorage  under  Cape  Colonna.    Pres- 


156  FROM   THE    FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIX. 

entlj  the  end  of  the  island  was  reached,  and  down  went 
our  helm,  the  spanker  at  the  same  time  being  set.  The 
force  of  the  wind  careened  ns  over,  bulwarks  under 
water.  The  spoon-drift  from  the  breakers  of  the  island 
blinded  us  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  see  to  windward. 
Presently  the  ship  careened  to  starboard,  and  we  found 
ourselves  under  the  lee  of  the  cape,  which  broke  the 
wind  and  headed  us  off  a  couple  of  points.  We  had 
way  enough  to  fetch  into  thirty  fathoms  of  water,  when 
we  let  go  both  anchors  and  veered  out  seventy  fathoms 
of  chain. 

Night  had  just  set  in.  Close  by  us,  just  ahead,  lay 
two  brigs  at  anchor.  1  could  not  distinguish  their  char- 
acter, as  they  had  nothing  above  the  top-mast.  In  the 
indistinct  light,  as  we  were  running  for  them,  I  took 
them  for  Greek  feluccas,  possibly  pirates. 

After  getting  our  fire-arms  ready,  and  loading  our 
carronades,  we  set  the  watch  for  the  night ;  but  before 
doing  that  I  determined  to  find  out  the  character  of  the 
strangers.  Lowering  our  whale-boat,  I  sent  the  second 
officer  to  reconnoitre.  As  the  boat  neared  the  first  brig 
she  was  met  by  a  hearty  hail  of  "Boat  ahoy!  What 
boat  is  that?"  in  good  round  English.  The  language 
liad  never  sounded  so  musical  to  me  before.  I  felt  my- 
self safe  among  friends.  They  proved  to  be  English 
man-of-war  brigs,  anchored  in  seven  fathoms,  with  a 
scope  of  fifty  fathoms  of  chain  out  on  both  anchors,  in 
good  holding  ground.  Learning  who  we  were,  they  ad- 
vised us  to  give  her  all  the  chain  we  had,  as  we  were  in 
such  deep  water,  near  the  edge  of  the  bank.  I  did  not 
wait  for  our  boat  to  return,  but  paid  out  our  chain  to 


FKEEMASONRY   AMONG   SAILORS.  157 

the  bare  end,  not  wishing  to  let  the  Englishmen  know 
I  had  taken  their  advice.  They  being  to  windward,  I 
heard  what  passed,  and  they  heard  the  rattle  of  our 
chain  running  out.  During  the  night  the  wind  blew  in 
violent  gusts,  stretcliing  our  chains  like  harp-strings.  At 
nine  o'clock  the  following  morning  (Sunday)  I  was  still 
sleeping.  I  had  put  in  thirteen  hours.  IIow  much  lon- 
ger I  would  have  slept  I  don't  know.  The  steward 
awakened  me  with  the  information  that  the  man-of-w^ar 
boats  were  pulling  ashore.  Ordering  my  gig  to  be  man- 
ned immediately,  I  pulled  after  them.  The  weather  had 
cleared  and  the  gale  abated.  The  brig's  boat  had  land- 
ed the  officers,  who,  seeing  my  gig  approaching,  waited. 
They  were  as  curious  to  know  me  as  I  to  know  them. 

There  is  that  freemasonry  among  sailors  that  we  sel- 
dom lose  an  opportunity  to  exchange  civilities  by  ask- 
ing one  another,  "  What  ship  is  that  ?  Where  from,  and 
where  bound  ?"  As  soon  as  I  jumped  on  the  beach, 
therefore,  we  went  through  the  rubric,  my  catechiser 
being  a  perfect  type  of  an  English  gentleman  and  sail- 
or, somewhat  past  the  meridian  of  life.  He  stood  a  lit- 
tle in  advance  of  a  group  of  officers,  all  in  full  uniform 
in  honor  of  the  day.  God's  holy  day  is  always  more 
respected  outwardly  by  the  English-speaking  people 
than  by  any  other.  I  was  addressed  thus  :  "  What  ship 
is  that?  Where  from?  where  bound  ?  Where  does  she 
hail  from?  What  is  her  captain's  name?"  To  all 
these  questions  I  replied  as  promptly  as  they  were  put. 
Going  on,  the  Englishman  asked, 

"  Did  3^ou  attempt  to  anchor  here  Friday  afternoon  ?" 

"No."  said  I. 


158  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

"  I  thonglit  not  from  the  way  your  ship  was  handled, 
which  was  one  of  the  prettiest  pieces  of  seamanship  and 
of  daring  I  have  ever  seen.  Your  captain  must  have 
been  in  these  waters  before." 

I  was  about  to  reply  to  this,  when  one  of  the  young- 
est officers  asked,  "Why  did  you  not  tack  ship  and 
anchor  on  the  bank  in  less  water  ?" 

This  question  was  one  to  be  asked  by  a  sailor  who 
studies  by  rote.  A  practical  seaman  would  not  have 
asked  it.  To  attempt  to  tack  or  wear  a  ship  under  our 
canvas  and  in  our  circumstances,  on  the  edge  of  a  bank 
a  cable's  length  to  leeward  of  which  there  was  no  an- 
chorage, was  entirely  out  of  the  question,  as  sailors  will 
understand.  I  was  about  to  reply  to  this  young  scion 
of  the  wardroom  with  more  warmth  than  politeness, 
but  before  I  could  answer,  the  first  interrogator,  seeing 
the  Yankee  blood  mounting  to  my  cheek,  undertook  to 
turn  the  conversation.     I  interrupted  him,  saying, 

"  You  will  excuse  me,  but  before  answering  any  fur- 
ther questions  may  I  ask  by  whom  I  have  the  honor  to 
be  addressed  ?" 

"  Certainly,  sir.  My  name  is  Lyons ;  I  am  called  Sir 
Edmund.  I  am  the  British  Minister  to  Greece,  and  re- 
side at  Athens.  Those  brigs  belong  to  her  Majesty's 
Royal  !N^avy.  One  has  been  stationed  here  some  time 
to  rid  these  waters  of  pirates,  who  are,  I  am  happy  to 
say,  less  numerous  than  when  she  arrived.  With  her 
great  speed  she  can  overhaul  anything  sighted.  The 
other,  which  has  come  out  to  relieve  lier,  is  said  to  be 
still  faster.  To-morrow  we  will  leave  here  for  Smyrna, 
on  a  trial  of  speed  between  the  two.     If  your  captain, 


SIR  EDMUND   LYONS.  159 

whom  I  should  be  happj  to  know,  were  ashore,  I  would 
ask  him  to  join  the  race,  as  his  ship  is  evidently  a  smart 
one.  Bear  him  this  message,  if  you  please ;  1  presume 
you  are  his  chief  oflBcer,  though  young." 

lie  was  proceeding  when  I  interrupted  him. 

'' Excuse  me,"  I  said,  "I  am  the  captain." 

I  did  it  as  modestly  as  my  pride  and  self-conceit  would 
allow.  We  had  been  ascending  a  high  mound  on  the 
top  of  the  promontory  of  Cape  Colonna,  where  Sir  Ed- 
mund said  a  temple  had  been  erected  to  Minerva.  He 
was  a  perfect  walking  encyclopaedia.  The  Mediterra- 
nean he  knew  as  well  as  his  prayers,  for  under  Sir  John 
Franklin  he  had  surveyed  this  inland  sea  from  Gibral- 
tar to  the  Sea  of  Azof.  He  took  special  interest  in  me 
when  he  found  that  I  had  not  taken  a  pilot  at  Milo,  and 
intended  to  rely  on  the  correctness  of  his  charts  as  be- 
ing sufficient  for  me  to  navigate  by. 

His  retinue  were  very  obsequious  to  him,  but  it  was 
not  in  my  nature — certainly  not  at  that  time — to  be 
anything  of  the  sort.  Taking  off  my  hat,  in  which  I 
had  several  cigars,  I  asked, 

"Will  you  have  a  cigar?  There  is  nothing  else  I  can 
offer  you  in  return  for  your  sailing  directions,  which 
have  told  me  how~  to  enter  the  various  harbors  which 
afford  shelter  to  a  large  ship,  and  how  to  observe  the 
first  indications  of  a  Levanter." 

My  youth  and  ingenuousness,  added  to  my  admiration 
for  him,  which  I  could  not  hide,  seemed  to  give  me  a 
warm  place  near  his  heart.  He  thanked  me,  seeming  to 
know  that  when  an  American  offers  a  cigar  or  a  chew 
of  tobacco  it  is  like  the  Indian's  pipe  of  peace.     I  gave 


160  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN. 

cigars  to  all  present,  and  we  lighted  up,  and  Sir  Ed- 
mund went  on  to  tell  us  about  Minerva's  temple,  in  tlie 
ruins  of  which  we  were  now  standing.  Afterwards  he 
pointed  out  the  various  islands,  and  described  their  points 
of  special  interest.     He  said  to  me : 

"You  see,  mj  young  friend,  that  stretch  of  narrow 
sand  in  front  of  us?  That  is  Micronisi.  If  you  had 
not  hugged  that  point  as  closely  as  you  did  in  rounding 
it  you  would  not  have  fetched  the  cape,  and  would  have 
missed  the  anchorage,  as  did  a  ship  that  attempted  to 
run  in  last  Friday.  When  she  supposed  she  was  close 
enough  she  let  go  her  anchors  without  fetching  up,  and 
we  last  saw  her  drifting  to  leeward  towards  the  Cardi- 
nal's Cap  with  her  sails  in  ribbons.  She  was  possibly 
lost.  The  violence  of  the  gale  prevented  us  from  ren- 
dering her  any  assistance.  When  I  saw  your  ship  last 
night,  and  noted  the  manner  in  which  she  w^as  handled, 
I  was  satisfied  she  was  not  the  ship  we  saw  the  day  be- 
fore, although  many  of  our  officers  supposed  to  the  con- 
trary." 

"We  were  in  company  with  the  ship  you  speak  of," 
I  replied,  "but  lost  sight  of  her  in  the  Strait  of  Doro  at 
the  beginning  of  the  gale." 

"  Between  Micronisi  and  where  you  stand,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  you  see  a  narrow  passage,  which  I  regret  to  say 
Sir  John  did  not  survey.  I  intend  to  survey  it  when 
we  return  from  this  trip.  The  channel  is  very  narrow, 
not  navigable  for  large  vessels.  There  is  said  to  be  a 
shoal  in  it,  which  I  intend  to  mark  on  the  chart.  I  have 
written  to  my  friend,  Captain  Washington,  hydrographer 
to  our  Admiralty,  of  my  intention.    To-night  will  finish 


ADDRESS  OF  SIR  EDMUND  LYONS  TO  HIS  OFFICERS.     161 

this  gale.  To-morrow  we  will  get  under  way.  The 
weather  will  be  fine,  with  a  nice  breeze  blowing.  We 
shall  lay-to  off  the  point  of  the  island  and  wait,  if  you 
will  join  us  and  try  your  speed." 

To  this  I  assented.  How  little  I  dreamed  that  within 
a  few  short  years  this  man,  as  admiral,  would  be  in  com- 
mand of  the  British  fleet  at  the  taking  of  Sevastopol  in 
the  Crimean  War.  Sir  Edmund,  with  the  warmth  of  a 
true  sailor,  invited  me,  should  I  visit  London,  to  call  on 
him,  and  said  it  w^ould  afford  him  much  pleasure  to  in- 
troduce me  to  his  associate  officers  at  the  Admiralty. 
He  then  turned  to  his  officers,  most  of  whom  were  very 
young,  and  made  to  them  a  rather  astonishing  little  ad- 
dress, of  which  I  and  my  native  land  were  the  subject. 

"  You  see  here,  gentlemen,"  he  said, "  a  type  of  the 
go-ahead  American  character.  The  place  he  now  holds 
was  plainly  won  by  dint  of  perseverance,  confidence,  and 
boldness.  America  w^as  once  our  own,  and  in  the  veins 
of  her  people  flows  English  blood.  They  are  the  off- 
spring of  our  forefathers.  Their  growth  was  rapid  in 
the  clear,  pure  air  they  breathe.  Is  it  to  be  wondered 
at,  then,  that  when  the  child  grew  to  be  a  man  he  could 
not  brook  the  tight  rein  of  his  parents,  and,  like  his 
neighbors,  the  Indians,  would  be  free  ?  England  still 
looks  upon  Americans  as  her  children.  I  have  been 
much  among  these  people,  whom  I  admire  for  all  that 
is  noble  and  good,  and  because  in  their  institutions  we 
find  the  highest  aims  of  manhood,  charity,  art,  science, 
literature,  and  religion.  Their  tastes  are  ours,  and  they, 
too,  speak  our  mother  tongue." 

While  he  was  thus  speaking,  I  felt  myself  soaring  as 


163  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN". 

high  as  our  American  eagle.  We  returned  to  our  boats, 
and  after  a  hearty  good-bj  were  pulled  to  our  respect- 
ive ships.  That  afternoon  we  picked  up  our  starboard 
anchor,  and  hove  in  twenty  fathoms  of  the  port  chain. 
The  wind  was  still  moderating. 

The  following  morning,  before  daylight,  we  set  all  our 
canvas  to  the  royals.  With  courses  and  fore  and  aft 
sails  loosed  and  the  anchor  short  apeak,  we  waited  for 
the  Britisher  to  break  ground.  I  had  fully  determined 
upon  a  manoeuvre  which  would  prove  the  justice  of  Sir 
Edmund's  eulogy  of  American  seamanship.  At  5  a.m. 
I  heard  their  boatswain  pipe,  "All — hands — up — an- 
chor." The  way  their  chains  were  run  in,  and  the  ra- 
pidity with  which  their  sails  were  set  and  their  vessels 
got  under  way,  would  have  gladdened  the  heart  of  any 
tar.  Filling  away  on  the  port  tack,  they  crossed  our 
bow.  We  in  the  mean  time  were  heaving  in.  They 
were  at  the  rendezvous  to  leeward  of  the  point  of  the 
island,  with  their  main  yards  aback,  waiting  for  us  to 
follow.  Tripping  our  anchor  we  started  after  them. 
We  luffed  into  the  entrance  of  the  narrow  passage  be- 
fore alluded  to  as  not  having  been  surveyed  by  Sir  John 
Franklin.     Seeing  this  they  tilled  away. 

We  all  headed  in  the  same  direction — to  the  north- 
ward— Micronisi  being  between  us.  We  had  a  fine  roy- 
al breeze  abeam,  and  the  sun  was  just  rising.  With  my 
pulse  at  fever  heat  I  mounted  the  fore-topsail  yard  to  con 
the  ship  through,  and  to  survey  the  channel  in  presence 
of  these  Britishers,  or  run  her  ashore  in  the  attempt. 
For  this  mad  act  I  must  be  pardoned  on  account  of  my 
youth  and  love  of  display  of  what  I  then  thought  clev- 


A   RECKLESS   UNDEKTAKING.  163 

erness.  My  chief  officer  was  on  the  forecastle  witli  a 
compass,  to  take  the  bearing  of  the  various  points  I 
should  name,  while  two  men  were  in  the  chains  heaving 
the  lead.  Presently  the  light  blue  water  we  were  sail- 
ing through  showed  a  much  lighter  patch  ahead,  extend- 
ing nearly  across  the  channel.  This  evidence  of  shoal 
water  reminded  me  at  once  of  my  foolhardiness.  The 
water  was  now  shoaling  rapidly  as  we  went  on.  Go  on 
1  must,  however,  as  there  was  no  room  to  tack  and  re- 
turn, and  to  let  go  all  standing,  my  pride  would  not 
allow.  Seeing  the  water  darker  to  windward,  we  luffed 
into  it.  I  could  almost  feel  the  sand  grinding  our  sides 
and  bottom  while  passing  through  the  narrow  gully. 

We  took  cross-bearings,  which  enabled  us  to  locate  the 
shoal  with  exactness.  Then  running  out  into  open  wa- 
ter in  the  Zea  Channel,  abreast  of  the  brigs,  we  put  our 
helm  up  and  ran  under  their  stern,  intending  to  give 
them  the  position  of  the  shoal,  not  knowing  that  every- 
thing said  on  board  of  us  (as  we  were  to  windward)  had 
been  distinctly  heard  by  them.  Sir  Edmund  raised  his 
cap,  and,  with  their  ensign  run  up,  thanked  us.  The 
cheers  that  rent  the  air  from  tlie  British  tars  made  me 
feel  myself  a  great  hero.  I  have  since  learned  that  I 
must  have  appeared  a  reckless  boy. 

With  a  rap  full  we  ran  under  the  lee  of  both  brigs, 
then  trimmed  our  canvas  close-hauled,  and  headed  tow- 
ards Andros.  We  soon  showed  superior  speed,  outfoot- 
ing  and  weathering  them  until  the  weathermost  brig 
was  on  our  lee  quarter.  Then  giving  our  ship  several 
good  shakes  up  into  the  wind,  to  let  them  draw  ahead, 
we  kept  broad  off,  going  again  under  their  stern  within 


164  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

twenty  feet,  when  Sir  Edmund  said, "  You  have  a  fast 
ship." 

"  Good-bj,"  I  replied.  "  Time  is  money." 
Hailing  me  again,  he  said, "  Meet  me  in  London." 
With  the  usual  dipping  of  colors,  and  a  salute  to 
which  I  answered  with  my  carronade,  we  parted  com- 
pany. We  pointed  towards  the  Doro  Channel,  and  they, 
with  their  yards  trimmed  in  a  couple  of  points,  headed 
for  the  southward  of  Andros,  and  thence  for  Smyrna, 
and  were  soon  out  of  sight.  So  ended  one  of  the  most 
delightful  episodes  of  my  life.  1  felt  more  proud  of 
winning  this  race  from  these  two  opponents  than  I  did 
after  the  ocean  yacht-race  of  ^Q6  in  beating  the  J^leet- 
toing  and  Vesta.  Eight  years  afterwards  I  had  occasion 
to  be  in  London,  and  to  appear  before  the  Lords  of  the 
Admiralty  with  the  Larcher  life-boat.  The  reception 
I  met  was  exceedingly  flattering,  as  Sir  Edmund  (then 
Lord  Lyons)  had  related  our  meeting  to  his  colleagues. 

We  once  more  entered  the  ^gean  Sea.  The  wind 
was  fresh  from  south-west,  and  our  course  was  north-east 
for  Anidola  (Asia  Minor).  The  following  morning  we 
saw  the  isle  of  Metelin.  The  wind  freshened  to  a  double- 
reefed  topsail  breeze,  and  before  dark  we  made  the  isle  of 
Lemnos  on  the  port,  and  Tenedos  on  the  starboard  bow. 
Between  the  latter  island  and  the  main-land  is  a  narrow 
passage  in  which  two  rocks  rise  about  the  height  of  a 
ship's  hull  out  of  water.  This  passage  is  laid  down  in 
the  sailing  directions  as  too  hazardous  to  be  attempted 
at  night.  Prudence  and  experience  would  have  coun- 
selled me  to  heave -to  till  morning,  especially  as  there 
were  no  lights  to  point  out  the  way,  but  self-confidence 


OFF  THE  MOUTH   OF  THE   DARDANELLES.  165 

prevented ;  so  we  steered  direct  for  the  passage,  and  with 
our  courses  hauled  up,  the  fore  and  aft  sails  down,  and 
topsails  double-reefed,  we  ran  along  close  under  the  land 
in  six  fathoms  of  water.  My  second  officer,  a  good 
leadsman,  was  in  the  chains,  giving  soundings.  I  mount- 
ed the  fore  yard  to  con  the  ship  through  the  passage.  I 
could  not  see,  as  the  night  was  quite  dark.  Presently 
land  was  reported  close  on  the  port  bow.  Edging  her 
off  a  little,  as  the  lead-line  indicated  five  fathoms,  w^e  en- 
tered the  passage.  Though  we  could  see  no  opening, 
our  lead  showed  that  we  were  in  a  fair  way,  and  in  less 
than  half  an  hour  rocks  were  reported.  The  crew  not 
being  in  my  confidence,  thought  I  was  deliberately  go- 
ing to  wreck  the  ship,  but  the  angel  above  that  looks 
out  for  poor  Jack  below  guided  us  between  the  two 
rocks  and  into  the  open  passage  beyond.  After  passing 
Tenedos,  we  closed  in  with  the  land,  running  along  it  in 
four  fathoms,  over  a  sandy  bottom,  about  seven  miles 
from  the  Dardanelles,  which  I  intended  to  enter,  though 
the  law  prohibited  vessels  doing  so  after  nightfall.  As 
the  wind  was  fair,  I  thought  to  slip  by  the  forts  under 
cover  of  night,  and  was  willing  to  take  the  chances  of 
being  fired  into  rather  than  lose  the  fair  wind  that  was 
blowing. 

The  lead  suddenly  indicated  a  depth  of  ten  fathoms, 
which  proved  us  to  be  off  the  "  mouth,"  but  I  could  see 
no  entrance.  As  the  channel  formed  a  bend,  the  shore 
presented  an  unbroken  line. 

It  was  two  o'clock  when  we  backed  the  maintop  sail 
to  wait  for  daylight.  In  my  inexperience  I  had  not 
made  sufficient  allowance  for  the  current  setting  out  of 


166  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN". 

the  Dardanelles,  consequently,  I  found  myself  at  day- 
light in  the  Gulf  of  Zeros,  about  twenty  miles  to  the 
north-east  of  Europa  Point.  After  regaining  my  posi- 
tion, which  took  the  entire  day,  with  a  stiff  top-gallant 
breeze  against  a  strong  current,  I  entered  the  Dardanelles, 
a  much  wiser  if  not  a  better  man,  and  anchored  between 
the  inner  and  outer  castles  of  Asia.  We  could  get  up 
no  farther,  as  the  wind  had  died  with  the  day. 

The  following  morning,  a  light  north-east  wind  blow- 
ing, we  and  several  others,  mostly  brigs,  got  under  way, 
and  tried  to  work  up  to  a  less  exposed  anchorage.  Find- 
ing the  current  (which  always  sets  down)  too  strong,  after 
several  tacks  we  anchored  again,  and  found  ourselves  to- 
gether with  twenty-two  vessels  of  every  rig  and  nation- 
ality. That  night  it  came  on  to  pipe  hard,  causing  the 
ship  to  drag,  and  w^e  let  go  our  starboard  anchor.  At 
3  A.M.  we  sent  down  the  royal  yards,  and  at  5  a.m.,  the 
wind  still  increasing,  the  top -gallant  yards  also.  The 
barometer  was  falling  rapidly,  with  every  indication  of 
a  hurricane. 


IN   COLLISION   WITH   AN   ITALIAN  BARK.  iG7 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Driven  Ashore  in  a  Gale  in  the  Dardanelles  near  the  Plains  of  An- 
cient Troy.  —  A  Turkish  Commander  who  resembled  the  Actor 
Hackett. — I  am  Hospitable  at  Christmas,  and  am  elected  Admiral 
of  a  great  Fleet,  to  which  I  show  the  Way  into  the  Golden 
Horn.— A  Smart  Turkish  Corvette  which  was  built  by  a  New- 
Yorker.  —  I  decline  to  be  Admiral  of  the  Turkish  Navy.  —  A 
Dozen  of  us  try  to  Swim  the  Bosporus  as  Byron  did. —  He 
must  have  done  his  Swimming  in  different  Weather,  —  A  Note 
from  the  most  beautiful  Woman  I  had  ever  seen. 

As  the  wind  and  current  were  nearly  in  the  same  di- 
rection, the  former  about  three  points  on  the  port  bow, 
the  latter  right  ahead,  we  had  dragged  into  three  and  a 
half  fathoms  of  water,  and  should  we  be  carried  two 
cables'  lengths  farther  we  would  strike  a  hard,  shingly 
bottom.  Accordingly  we  let  go  our  spare  anchor  from 
the  starboard  bow,  with  a  spring  from  the  same  quarter, 
to  throw  her  head  to  port  into  deeper  water  should  she 
drag  again.  By  this  means  we  hoped,  too,  to  get  the 
current  on  the  starboard  bow.  At  this  time,  9  a.m.,  six 
of  the  fleet  were  hard  and  fast.  Most  of  them  had 
dragged  their  anchors,  fouling  and  doing  one  another  a 
great  deal  of  damage.  An  Italian  bark  came  down 
on  us,  having  parted  her  chains,  and  our  port  cathead 
took  her  mizzen,  main,  and  fore  rigging,  which  made 
her  a  complete  wreck.  As  she  struck  us  we  started 
our  anchors,  and  dragged  until  our  hawser  tautened  on 


168  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIX. 

the  third  anchor;  this  brought  us  up.  In  the  mean 
time  we  had  cut  the  bark  clear  of  us,  but  not  until 
we  had  slioaled  our  water  to  tliree  fathoms.  But  at  10 
A.M.,  in  a  heavy  squall,  our  anchors  once  more  broke 
ground ;  nor  did  we  fetch  up  until  we  struck,  about  a 
cable's  length  from  shore.  The  ship  began  to  leak  bad- 
ly. To  keep  her  bottom  from  being  stove  in  we  veered 
out  our  chains  to  the  very  end.  The  ship  then  took  the 
bottom,  which  relieved  her  from  her  heavy  thumping. 

The  United  States  consul  now  appeared,  displaying 
the  American  flag  with  signs  for  us  to  land.  I  had  the 
whale-boat  manned  with  four  of  my  best  men.  We  bent 
two  coils  of  three-inch  Manila-rope  together,  and  made 
the  end  fast  to  the  stern  to  keep  her  end  on  to  the  sea 
in  landing,  and  to  haul  us  off  again  to  the  ship.  On 
going  ashore  I  met  the  consul,  who  advised  me  to  land 
my  men,  as  the  ship  would  certainly  go  to  pieces  at 
once.  This  advice  I  rejected.  I  told  him  I  only  want- 
ed assistance  to  heave  the  ship  oif  when  the  gale  had 
sufficiently  abated.  This  the  consul  said  I  could  only 
obtain  at  the  castles,  which  were  four  miles  distant.  To 
reach  them  we  crossed  the  plains  of  Troy  on  donkeys. 
It  was  the  rainy  season,  and  the  mud  was  knee -deep. 
At  the  castles  I  found  stationed  a  small  military  guard 
whose  commandant  w^as  a  fellow  who  reminded  me 
much  of  Ilackett  as  Falstaff.  The  austere  dignity  with 
which  he  met  us  was  only  softened  when  the  consul  told 
him  who  I  was.  He  had  taken  us  for  Englishmen,  but 
Americans  were  much  liked  abroad  in  those  days.  He 
offered  to  render  any  assistance  in  his  power,  but  he  had 
no  vessels  or  boats  of  any  sort  that  were  available  for 


ANCHORED   OFF   LAMSAKI.  169 

my  purpose,  which  was  to  cany  out  our  anchors  into 
deep  w^ater.  I  was  prepared  to  pay  liberally  for  any 
aid  which  he  would  afford,  but  he  said  that  under  no 
circumstances  would  he  allow  any  of  his  men  to  board 
the  ship  until  the  gale  had  abated. 

The  following  afternoon  the  gale  liad  sufficiently 
abated  to  allow  us  to  carry  out  our  anchors  without  as- 
sistance, but  within  another  twenty-four  hours  the  wind 
changed  to  a  violent  south-wester,  w^liich  checked  the 
outflow  of  the  current,  and  the  water  soon  swelled  suffi- 
ciently to  allow  us,  after  we  had  thrown  fifty  tons  of 
ballast  overboard,  to  heave  off  and  get  under  way ;  but 
we  were  leaking  badly.  The  same  afternoon  the  wind 
failed  us,  and  we  anchored  oft'  Lamsaki. 

It  was  the  day  before  Christmas,  and  we  found  our- 
selves among  a  fleet  of  sixty  vessels,  from  all  nations — 
Greece,  Turkey,  Austria,  Italy,  Spain,  England,  and 
Germany — all  bound  to  Constantinople.  We  were  the 
only  one  flying  the  American  flag,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  a  Turkish  corvette  ours  was  the  only  full-rigged 
ship.  Our  nationality  and  speed  excited  much  atten- 
tion, and  when  I  landed  to  make  some  purchases  for 
our  Christmas  festival  I  met  a  hearty  reception  from 
the  English-speaking  captains  who  had  landed  for  the 
same  purpose.  There  was  nothing  to  be  had  at  this  mis- 
erable mud-hole  of  a  village  except  goat's  meat — rams,  I 
should  say,  for  with  all  the  skill  of  my  Dutch  cook  the 
meat  was  as  tough  as  the  sinews  of  an  albatross  wing. 
Not  a  potato  or  any  kind  of  vegetable  could  be  had. 
As  a  substitute  for  these  we  had  mashed  chestnuts, 
which  were  plentiful  and  very  good,  although  nothing 
8 


170  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

can  take  the  place  of  potatoes.  Landsmen  do  not  know 
what  a  hixurj  potatoes  are ;  only  sailors  appreciate  their 
true  worth. 

Christmas,  though  a  gloomy  and  miserable  day,  was 
made  lively  on  my  ship  in  receiving  and  entertaining 
visitors  from  the  fleet.  I  did  nothing  to  diminish  the 
reputation  which  Americans  had  acquired  for  hospitali- 
ty, and  before  the  day  was  over  I  was  voted  a  "  young 
trump."  My  vanity  was  pleased  when  they  elected  me 
admiral  of  the  fleet  in  consideration  of  the  fact  that  I 
was  the  only  captain  who  had  a  chronometer  on  board, 
which  fact  stamped  me  as  a  deep-sea  sailor  and  naviga- 
tor. Colliers  or  coasters  have  little  use  for  nautical  in- 
struments, and  a  compass  is  enough  for  them.  When 
I  flrst  went  to  sea  chronometers  were  not  as  common 
as  they  are  now ;  then  only  deep-sea  ships  carried  them. 
American  ships,  however,  always  carried  chronometers, 
and  when  a  foreigner  saw  a  Yankee  ship  come  dashing 
along  he  would  invariably  ask  for  the  longitude.  This 
practice  is  still  in  vogue  with  those  who  have  no  confi- 
dence in  their  own  navigation,  but  a  thorough  ship-mas- 
ter spurns  the  idea  of  asking  the  longitude. 

We  stayed  at  this  place  twenty-seven  days  before  a 
slant  of  wind  favored  us  to  get  under  way.  Then  we 
took  the  lead  of  the  fleet  into  the  Sea  of  Marmora.  The 
only  vessel  that  was  a  match  for  us  was  the  corvette. 
She  could  have  beaten  us  if  she  had  been  handled  by 
sailors.  The  Turks  know  little  of  seamanship — less  than 
the  French,  who  say  that  those  who  are  not  satisfied  to 
live  in  Paris,  and  prefer  a  sea-life,  deserve  to  be  drowned. 
The  wind  favored  us  until  we  were  off  the  island  of 


TACKING  INTO  THE   GOLDEN  HORN.  171 

Marmora;  tlien  it  hauled  riglit  aliead,  giving  us  a  dead 
beat  to  windward.  Now  came  the  fine  work.  Any 
tub  can  sail  before  the  wind.  Only  a  regatta  reporter 
could  do  justice  to  such  a  scene  as  we  afforded  when  all 
rigs  were  represented  in  a  cracking  breeze  that  would 
have  satisfied  any  yachtsman.  At  11  p.m.  we  anchored 
just  below  Seraglio  Point  in  company  with  the  corvette, 
leadins:  the  rest  of  the  fleet  from  two  to  four  hours. 
The  following  morning  at  daybreak  we  started  to  work 
to  windward  again.  Yery  rarely  can  a  vessel  be  found 
that  is  smart  enough  to  work  into  the  Golden  Horn ; 
but  seeing  the  Turk  under  way  we  followed  with  the 
rest  of  the  fleet,  wliicli  had  increased  in  number  to  over 
a  liundred  vessels.  The  sun  rose,  shedding  his  golden 
lustre  upon  landscape  and  architecture  which  for  beau- 
ty and  picturesqueness  are  unexcelled  in  any  port  in  the 
world.  The  corvette  and  we  worked  tack  for  tack  un- 
der the  Scutari  shore,  while  the  others  kept  on  the  other 
side,  trying  to  work  around  Seraglio  Point.  When 
abreast  of  Leander's  Tower  the  wind  hauled  enough  to 
allow  us  to  cross  the  Bosporus  and  fetch  into  the  har- 
bor a  half  mile  ahead  of  our  competitor  —  and  sharp 
work  we  had  of  it.  The  distance  to  the  anchorage  from 
the  point  is  short.  Little  time  was  left  us  to  handle 
the  canvas,  and  we  did  not  come  to  in  as  seaman-like  a 
manner  as  I  could  have  wished.  We  brought  up  with 
both  anchors,  however,  in  time  to  avoid  carrying  away 
the  bridge  that  stretches  across  the  Golden  Horn,  our 
cork  fenders  over  the  stern  just  touching  it,  but  doing 
no  damage.  When  the  sails  were  furled  we  sprung 
her  ahead  by  heaving  in  twenty  fathoms  of  chain,  which 


172  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

left  US  riding  to  fifty  fatlioms  among  a  number  of  small 
vessels.  It  was  a  wonder  that  we  did  not  sink  many  of 
them  in  rounding  to. 

The  corvette  and  ourselves  were  the  only  vessels  that 
worked  in ;  the  rest  of  the  fleet  were  anchored  between 
the  Seven  Towers  and  the  Mosque  of  St.  Sophia  for  ten 
days,  waiting  for  a  change  of  wind  before  they  could 
enter  the  harbor.  I  afterwards  ascertained  the  cause  of 
the  fast  sailing  of  my  antagonist  the  corvette.  She 
had  been  built  by  Mr.  Rhodes,  a  IS^ew- Yorker,  who  had 
been  the  Turkish  naval  constructor,  and  had  built  most 
of  their  navy.  He  went  to  Turkey  from  the  Brooklyn 
Navy  Yard.  American  ingenuity  and  character  were 
highly  appreciated  in  the  Ottoman  Empire.  A  Penn- 
sylvanian  had  charge  of  the  mint. 

On  landing  I  was  warmly  greeted  by  our  consul,  one 
of  the  best  fellows  that  ever  lived.  He  was  glad  enough 
to  see  us,  as  Yankee  vessels  were  a  rare  sight  in  those 
waters.  He  was  in  company  with  the  Pacha  of  the 
navy,  to  whom  I  was  introduced.  He  congratulated  me 
on  my  skill  in  handling  my  vessel.  He  had  witnessed 
the  day's  sailing  with  much  pleasure  while  awaiting  im- 
portant despatches  by  the  corvette. 

Our  mishap  had  been  announced  by  a  messenger,  and 
the  Pacha  offered  any  assistance  in  his  power.  He  re- 
gretted that  his  dry-docks  were  occupied  by  two  frigates, 
but  I  might  have  the  use  of  the  dockyard,  where  we 
could  heave  down,  and  any  material  I  might  need  for 
repairs  was  at  my  disposal.  The  following  day  we 
hauled  through  the  bridge  to  the  yard,  where  we  dis- 
mantled and  hove  out.      Our  men  occupied  tents  on 


:i.||ir^iiiiiiiiiiii:!i:ii!iiii:iii;iiiiii 


ATTEMPT  TO   SWIM   THE   BOSPORUS.  175 

shore,  as  there  were  no  sailors'  boarding-houses,  or  crimps 
to  entice  them  to  desert.  We  had  many  visitors  during 
the  repairs,  which  were  done  entirely  by  my  crew.  The 
leak  was  in  the  garboard,  and  it  was  necessary  to  strip 
off  only  two  courses  of  metal. 

The  captains  in  the  fleet  felt  as  anxious  to  see  my 
ship  ready  for  sea  as  I  did.  I  am  proud  to  say  I  became 
quite  a  favorite.  The  Pacha  saw  me  occasionally,  and 
was  very  kind,  and  when  the  ship  was  repaired  and 
ready  to  go  into  the  stream,  I  had  the  honor  of  declin- 
ing, through  our  consul,  the  admiralship  of  the  Turkish 
navy.  1  called  upon  his  Highness  the  next  day  to 
thank  him  for  his  courtesy,  and  he  presented  to  me  as  a 
memento  one  of  his  chibouques,  the  mouth -piece  of 
w^hicli  I  still  have  and  prize  highly.  It  will  always  re- 
mind me  that  I  might  have  become  a  Turk  had  I  not 
been  married. 

The  time  hangs  heavily  when  ships  are  waiting  for 
freights  or  winds  to  start  them  into  active  service.  Pera 
had  become  dreadfully  dull  to  us,  and  we  had  done  up 
Constantinople  and  the  surrounding  country  to  our 
heart's  content.  With  the  exception  of  an  occasional 
dinner  at  the  consulate,  there  was  no  recreation  to  be 
had  —  no  theatres  or  operas.  A  dozen  of  us  tried  to 
swim  the  Bosporus  from  the  point  at  which  Byron 
was  said  to  have  started.  He  must  have  accomplished 
his  feat  in  summer,  for  we  signally  failed  in  the  attempt, 
owing  to  the  temperature  of  the  water,  and  were  glad 
enough  to  be  taken  on  board  our  boats  before  we  got 
half  way. 

Our  only  resort  was  a  hotel  which  was  kept  by  the 


17a  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

wife  of  tlie  captain  of  the  port,  wlio  was  in  exile  foi 
murder.  She  was  a  true  type  of  Grecian  beauty,  a  na- 
tive of  Athens,  just  such  a  person  as  the  bard  who  swam 
so  well  would  immortalize  in  verse.  Between  the  hotel 
and  the  landing  where  we  took  our  boats  for  the  ship 
was  a  distance  of  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile.  Most 
of  the  streets  were  guarded  by  gates,  which  were  closed 
at  night,  when  no  one  was  allowed  to  pass — unless  sail- 
ors, who  with  a  few  piasters  could  bribe  the  guard  to 
open  for  them  at  any  time.  We  never  ventured  to  be 
out  late  unless  we  were  a  dozen  or  so  strong;  then  we 
would  sally  forth,  lantern  in  one  hand  and  pistol  in  the 
other,  ready  to  defend  ourselves  against  robbers  who 
did  not  hesitate  to  take  life.  The  Turkish  authorities 
took  no  notice  of  troubles  arising  among  foreigners. 
The  consuls  were  supposed  to  care  for  the  interests  of 
their  own  people.  I  saw  a  Greek  stab  and  rob  an  Aus- 
trian captain  within  twenty  feet  of  a  Turkish  guard, 
who  did  not  interfere,  and  who  showed  less  interest 
than  he  would  have  shown  at  a  fight  between  two  packs 
of  dogs. 

The  street  which  was  our  regular  route  to  the  ship 
had  a  gate  and  a  guard-house  at  either  end.  Blank  walls 
abont  twenty  feet  high  extended  some  ^ve  hundred  feet 
along  both  sides  of  the  street.  Behind  these  walls  were 
the  palaces  of  two  of  the  grand  Pachas.  We  could  only 
see  the  windows  of  the  upper  stories,  the  magnificence 
within  was  left  to  our  imagination.  As  we  were  walk- 
ing past  one  afternoon,  one  of  the  windows  was  suddenly 
thrown  open,  and  there  appeared  at  it  the  most  beauti- 
ful woman  I  had  ever  seen.     We  were  fairly  electrified 


THE   LADY    OP  THE    HAREM. 


8* 


A   NOTE  I'HROWN   FKOM   A   HAREM.  179 

by  lier  beaiitj.  She  had  defied  a  well-known  edict  in 
showing  us  her  face,  as  we  knew.  Instantly  as  she  ap- 
peared we  saw  her  throw  something  over  the  wall,  and 
then  she  closed  the  window.  It  was  a  note  which  she 
had  thrown.  We  all  rushed  to  pick  it  up.  The  prize 
was  won  by  a  Swedish  captain,  who  immediately  pock- 
eted it. 

When  we  arrived  at  the  landing  the  Swedish  captain 
invited  me  on  board  his  ship.  We  had  been  so  intimate 
during  our  stay  here  that  the  rest  of  the  party  could  not 
take  offence  at  this  preference ;  but  how  anxious  they 
were  to  know  the  contents  of  that  note  !  I  insisted  that 
no  gentleman  could  ask,  nor  would  any  divulge  its  con- 
tents, which  justly  belonged  to  its  captor.  Once  on 
board,  the  note  was  opened,  when  an  agitation  seized  the 
captain  which  made  him  appear  to  me  like  a  lunatic. 

"  Captain,"  he  said,  handing  me  the  note,  "  you  are 
married,  and  circumstances  have  proved  how  much  you 
love  your  wife.  I  am  unmarried,  and  have  fallen  des- 
perately in  love.  Help  me  by  your  advice.  What  shall 
I  do  ?  My  ship  is  ready  to  sail,  and  the  wind  is  fair.  I 
do  not  own  the  vessel  or  cargo,  and  therefore  have  no 
right  to  detain  her.     Read,  and  tell  me  what  to  do." 

As  my  own  marriage  had  been  very  romantic,  this  af- 
fair was  doubly  exciting  to  me.  The  note  was  written 
in  a  good  English  hand,  as  follows  : 

"  I  know  you  are  Christians,  and  will  save  me  from 
this  life  of  degradation.  Entombed  in  tliis  harem,  from 
which  there  is  no  other  way  of  escape,  I  appeal  to  you 
in  mercy  to  save  me.  God,  I  know,  will  open  your 
hearts,  give  wisdom,  and  guide  you  to-morrow  night  to 


180  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIX. 

a  silken  thread  thrown  from  this  window,  near  wliere 
you  found  my  note.  To  the  thread  attach  your  answer. 
Death  awaits  discovery." 

The  night  was  spent  in  devising  means  of  rescue. 
The  captain  swore  upon  the  Bible  that  he  would  marry 
her  if  rescued,  and  if  she  would  consent.  Jewels  are  most 
prized  when  most  difficult  to  obtain.  I  was  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  his  feelings,  and  when  the  day  broke  our 
plan  of  action  had  been  determined.  I  saw  that  he  was 
unfitted  to  go  to  sea,  his  head  being  entirely  turned,  and 
to  ease  his  conscience  upon  the  point  of  his  duty  1 
pointed  out  that  the  interest  of  all  parties  would  be 
served  best  if  he  should  defer  his  departure  until  the 
dark  moon,  when  the  plan  devised  could  be  put  into 
operation.     This  would  necessitate  a  delay  of  five  days. 

Among  our  friends  we  were  to  pretend  that  no  im- 
portance attached  to  the  missive  which  the  lady  had 
thrown  out.  As  a  reason  for  his  delay  in  not  sailing, 
the  Swedish  captain  w^as  to  say  that  he  had  discovered 
a  leak  in  his  ship's  top  side  after  he  had  loaded  her, 
which  made  it  necessary  to  careen  her  for  repairs.  It 
required  much  tact  to  avoid  the  captains  with  whom  we 
had  been  in  daily  company,  and  to  make  excuses  to  stay 
ashore  late  every  night.  We  stayed  ashore  to  become 
well  acquainted  with  the  guards,  whom  we  thought  we 
could  induce,  by  appearing  to  be  half  drunk  and  by  a 
liberal  use  of  money,  to  open  the  gates  for  us  at  any 
tijne.  The  first  night  we  half  staggered  up  to  the  gate, 
handed  the  guards  one  hundred  piasters,  and  then 
showed  then;  our  empty  pockets,  whereupon  they  al- 
lowed us  to  pass  through  the  gate,  pointing  to  their 


IN   COMMUNICATION   WITH   A   HAREM.  181 

hearts  to  assure  us  that  no  one  should  pass  that  way  to 
molest  us.  Each  of  us  carried  the  usual  paper  lantern 
to  illuminate  the  way,  and  we  were  well  armed  with 
pistols  and  cutlasses.  During  the  day  we  had  paced  the 
distance  from  the  gate  to  the  spot  where  we  might  ex- 
pect to  find  the  thread,  and  we  now  had  but  to  pace  off 
the  same  number  of  steps  in  the  darkness.  During  the 
day  also  we  had  not  failed  to  show  ourselves  frequently 
in  the  street,  to  let  the  prisoner  know  that  we  meant  to 
communicate  with  her. 

We  found  the  thread,  and  attached  our  note  of  reply, 
first  putting  out  our  lights  to  avoid  discovery.  Softly 
pulling  the  thread,  we  felt  a  gentle  strain  in  reply,  and 
the  note  was  pulled  up,  to  reach,  w^e  prayed,  the  hands 
of  her  who  so  anxiously  awaited  it.  On  our  return 
to  the  gate  it  was  immediately  opened  when  we  had 
knocked,  and  the  guard  had  recognized  our  English 
voices. 


183  FliOM   THE   FOKECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

I  assist  a  Christian  Lad}'  to  flee  from  a  Turkish  Harem. — She  comes 
to  me  and  my  Friend,  a  Swedish  Captain,  down  a  Silken  Ladder 
in  the  dead  of  Night,  goes  on  Board  my  Friend's  Ship,  and  sails 
away  to  England,  where  they  are  Married.— Constantinople  be- 
comes too  Hot  to  Hold  me  after  they  are  Gone. — A  Collision  in 
the  Bosporus,  and  a  Run  to  Odessa  in  which  I  beat  the  entire 
Fleet  of  which  I  was  Admiral. — A  Lucky  New-Yorker  the  one 
Ship-chandler  at  Odessa. 

Our  letter  to  the  lady  contained  the  following : 

"On  the  iifth  night,  counting  from  to-morrow,  we 
will  rescue  you  by  a  rope-ladder.  At  one  o'clock  we 
will  attach  a  strong  line  to  the  end  of  your  cord.  Pull 
this  until  the  ladder  reaches  you.  The  line  will  be  suf- 
ficiently strong  to  bear  your  weight.  Place  the  line 
over  a  hook  or  post,  but  do  not  make  it  fast.  We  w411 
hold  the  end,  so  fear  not.  The  line  will  be  withdrawn 
after  your  descent,  so  that  no  one  w411  discover  the  man- 
ner of  your  escape.  There  will  be  no  moon.  Before 
daybreak  you  will  be  on  a  vessel  under  way  for  England. 
If  you  can  devise  any  other  means,  or  have  any  sugges- 
tions to  make,  you  can  communicate  as  before ;  we  will 
pass  nightly,  until  we  have  some  token  from  you.  We 
are  two  who  have  sworn  to  save  you.  One  of  us  will 
ascend  to  assist  in  your  descent,  if  you  desire  it.  May 
God,  to  whom  you  have  prayed,  nerve  you  to  your  task." 

The  next  night  we  received  the  following  answer : 


PREPARATIONS   FOR   A   RESCUE.  183 

"  I  will  provide  the  ladder,  which  you  will  pull  tow- 
ards you  by  the  cord.  I  have  a  trusted  eunuch  wlio  will 
assist  me,  as  his  life  belongs  to  me.  Think  well  of  the 
danger.  1  have  no  right  to  place  you  in  jeopardy.  In 
case  of  discovery  a  rope-ladder  upon  you  would  prove 
your  guilt ;  you  would  be  seized  and  disposed  of,  none 
would  know  how  except  the  headsman.  Your  crime 
and  mine  are  punishable  by  death.  My  life  is  nothing, 
nor  would  I  be  missed,  but  you  have  loved  ones  at 
home.  Should  you  change  your  minds  on  the  night  ap- 
pointed, God  have  mercy  upon  me !  I  will  not  live  to 
see  the  light  of  another  day.  I  have  often  meditated 
this  act.  I  liave  felt  that  God,  to  whom  1  have  always 
prayed,  would  deliver  me,  and  that  I  would  be  allowed 
to  thank  him  in  his  Sanctuary.  If  you  do  not  find  the 
cord,  you  may  know  that  I  liave  been  betrayed.  If  all 
is  safe,  the  cord  will  be  weighted  with  a  silken  purse 
containing  jewels  to  reward  you  and  to  assist  me  in  my 
escape.  Should  you  not  find  this  token,  it  will  be  be- 
cause I  have  been  discovered.  Then  be  on  your  guard 
against  assassination.  I  shall  not  look  for  you  until  the 
hour  named." 

My  friend,  Captain  H ,  had  fallen  most  desperate- 
ly in  love.  I  say  desperately,  because  he  neither  slept, 
ate,  nor  drank  ;  nor  would  he  give  me  any  rest.  It  was 
reassuring  to  me  to  see  a  fellow  so  far  gone;  I  had 
thought  myself  the  only  one  who  could  be  so  "  cracked." 
He  was  always  at  my  heels,  and  had  become  my  shadow. 
I  learned  his  whole  history.  The  cause  of  his  going  to 
sea  was  the  removal  of  a  flaxen-haired,  blue-eyed  school- 
mate who  had  been  his  beloved  little  friend  from  his 
earliest  memory.     Her  parents  had  moved  to  Moscow, 


184  FROM   THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN". 

and  thence,  as  he  was  informed,  to  Odessa,  from  which 
port  he  liad  last  sailed,  with  a  cargo  of  grain  for  Fal- 
mouth for  orders.  At  Odessa  he  had  made  the  most 
searching  inquiries,  and  learned  that  a  family  of  the 
same  name  had  gone  to  Alexandria  about  six  years  pre- 
vious. He  had  been,  until  our  present  adventure,  re- 
markably quiet  and  diffident.  He  had  told  me  that  his 
diffidence  arose  from  the  fact  that  he  was  almost  a  wom- 
an-hater, and  that  he  never'  expected  to  be  happy  until 
he  found  his  early  love,  whom  he  last  saw  when  she  was 
eleven  and  he  twelve  years  of  age.  His  interest  in  the 
fair  captive  was  doubtless  aroused  by  the  fact  that  she 
strongly  resembled  his  early  love. 

The  eventful  night  arrived.  I  gave  a  supper  at  the 
hotel  to  allay  any  suspicion.  Supper  was  ordered  for 
twenty,  and  was  served  at  eleven  o'clock,  which  meant 
an  all-night  spree.  Wine  flowed  freely,  and  had  its  ef- 
fect upon  our  friends.  At  twelve  o'clock,  by  a  precon- 
certed arrangement,  a  note  was  handed  to  me  by  a  serv- 
ant. I  pretended  that  it  had  been  sent  by  my  second 
officer,  and  that  it  announced  that  my  chief  officer  had 
killed  one  of  the  crew.  Apologizing  for  my  sudden  de- 
parture, I  promised  to  return  as  soon  as  possible  and  fin- 
ish the  night.    My  friend.  Captain  H ,  insisted  upon 

going  with  me.  I  protested,  but  he  was  obstinate,  and 
finally,  as  the  company  insisted  that  it  was  not  safe  to 
go  alone,  we  two  separated  in  company. 

We  arrived  at  the  gate  in  our  usual  apparently  drunk- 
en condition,  feed  the  guard  liberally,  and  passed  through. 
A  few  minutes  later  we  returned  and  had  our  cigars  and 
lanterns  lighted,  pretending  that  the  latter  had  been  put 


WE   BRIBE  THE   GUARDS.  185 

out  accidentally.  They  were  so  ready  in  assisting  us  that 
we  gave  them  another  handful  of  piasters,  and  made 
them  understand  not  to  allow  any  one  to  follow  us. 
They  earnestly  promised,  and  we  started  again,  our  hearts 
almost  bursting  with  rapid  pulsation.  We  found  the 
cord  ;  a  purse  was  at  the  end  of  it.     So  far  all  was  safe. 

Kunning  to  the  farther  gate  as  quickly  as  possible,  we 
repeated  our  former  strategy  of  bribes,  and  the  guards 
there  promised  us  that  while  we  were  in  the  street  no- 
body should  pass  them.  Thus  we  had  the  field  to  our- 
selves, with  guards  on  either  hand  to  protect  us  from 
interference. 

We  retuijned  to  the  spot  where  the  purse  lay.  It 
was  readily  discovered  by  reason  of  its  brilliancy,  being 
worked  in  gold  and  silver  threads.  A  stout  cord  was 
attached  to  it.  We  pulled  gently  upon  the  cord,  and 
drew  down  a  ladder  made  of  silk. 

The  night  was  dark,  not  a  star  visible.  Thus  far  ev- 
erything favored  us.  We  put  a  strain  upon  the  ladder 
with  both  our  weights,  to  keep  it  from  swaying,  when 
suddenly  we  felt  a  heavy  burden  upon  it,  and  in  an  in- 
stant a  man  in  a  white  tunic  sprang  from  the  ladder  and 
seized  me  by  both  arms,  muttering  something  I  could 
not  understand.  Letting  go  his  iron  gripe  upon  me,  he 
took  the  captain  in  the  same  manner.  Then  he  sprang 
up  the  ladder  and  disappeared. 

We  were  so  taken  by  surprise  that  we  could  not  have 
defended  ourselves  if  occasion  had  required  it.  Treach- 
ery or  not  we  did  not  know,  but  we  stood  at  our  post. 
Presently  we  felt  by  the  strain  upon  the  rope  that  some 
one  was  again  descending.     This  time  it  was  the  lady 


186  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN". 

lierself.  She  sprang  lightly  to  the  ground,  and  a  mo- 
ment later  came  the  man  who  had  before  descended. 
He  was  her  faithful  slave.  He  fell  on  his  knees,  beg- 
ging to  be  taken  with  us.  But  this  was  impossible.  He 
was  to  be  relieved  by  another  guard  at  four  o'clock,  and 
his  absence  would  have  caused  tlie  discovery  of  the  es- 
cape. She  advised  him  to  return,  close  the  window,  and 
let  go  the  rope.  She  would  not  be  missed  until  noon, 
when  it  would  be  imj)0ssible  to  know  during  whose 
w^atch  she  had  made  her  escape.  It  might  be  supposed 
that  she  had  committed  suicide,  as  she  had  frequently 
threatened  to  do,  and  might  have  done  by  throwing  her- 
self into  the  Bosporus  through  a  trap  in  the  floor  of  a 
boat-house  near  by. 

She  did  not  speak,  nor  evince  any  terror,  but  trusted 
us  entirely.  As  we  heard  footsteps  rapidly  approaching, 
and  feared  pursuit  or  a  meeting  with  street  marauders, 
we  lost  no  time  in  reaching  the  gate.  The  guard  opened 
it  immediately.  The  word  "  American  "  had  a  charm 
for  them,  especially  as  it  was  followed  by  a  handful  of 
piasters  thrown  at  them  when  the  gate  was  opened.  I 
presume  they  imagined  we  did  it  in  our  drunken  fun, 
but  it  was  really  to  draw  their  attention  from  our  com- 
panion. After  we  had  passed  through  I  locked  the 
gate  and  threw  away  the  key.  The  guards  were  too 
busy  picking  up  the  money  to  heed  a  thundering  at  the 
gate  after  we  liad  gone  on.  We  did  not  reach  our  boats 
too  soon,  for  we  could  hear  muttering  voices  and  tramp- 
ing feet  close  behind  us.  With  muffled  oars  w^e  pulled 
for  my  friend's  brig.  We  had  proceeded  not  more  than 
fifty  yards  from  the  shore,  when  we  heard  our  pursuers 


A   CHRISTIAN   LADY   RELEASED   FROM   A   HAREM.     187 

jumping  into  boats  at  the  landing.  Who  they  were  we 
could  not  tell,  but  they  had  not  the  customary  lights 
with  them  to  indicate  that  they  were  honest  citizens. 
The  extreme  darkness  favored  our  flight  among  the 
many  vessels  anchored  in  the  harbor,  most  of  which  had 
their  anchor  lights  up.  My  friend's  vessel  had  two  lights 
in  the  main  rigging  as  a  private  signal.  These  were  put 
out  as  soon  as  we  reached  the  deck. 

Entering  the  cabin,  we  again  saw  the  face  of  the  lady. 
As  I  have  before  said,  she  was  the  most  beautiful  wom- 
an I  had  ever  seen.  I  could  not  help  feeling  that  my 
friend  was  not  the  handsome  fellow  that  deserved  to  be 
united  to  such  loveliness — yet  the  gods  mated  Yenus 
and  Yulcan.  The  Swedish  captain  was  speechless  with 
admiration.  I  acted  as  his  ambassador,  and  informed 
her  how  desperately  in  love  he  was,  and  that  he  was  de- 
termined to  save  her  or  lose  his  life  in  the  attempt.  She 
was  now  free  to  act  for  herself,  but  I  was  sure  that  if 
she  married  him  she  would  have  a  loving  husband.  As 
I  had  been  concerned  in  her  rescue  from  captivity,  I 
felt  it  my  right  as  well  as  my  duty  to  urge  her  to  ac- 
cept him.  She  did  not  utter  a  word,  but  remained  per- 
fectly passive.  I  advised  him  to  leave  the  cabin  and 
get  his  ship  under  way  at  once.  My  boat's  crew  would 
assist  him.  The  vessel  must  be  outside  the  harbor,  I 
said,  before  daylight,  and  before  sunrise  be  well  into  the 
Sea  of  Marmora.     And  so  we  parted. 

It  was  three  o'clock  when  I  reached  my  ship.  Sleep 
was  out  of  the  question.  The  events  of  the  previous 
few  days  were  like  a  dream  out  of  which  I  had  just 
awakened.     The  consequences  might  have  been  serious 


188  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

to  me.  But  I  was  always  ready  for  adventures,  and  liad 
been  in  many  a  predicament  equally  hazardous.  I  lived, 
as  all  young  sailors  live,  on  romance  and  daring.  The 
excitement  of  this  occasion  was  as  exhilarating  to  me  as 
champagne  is  to  the  wine-bibber. 

In  the  morning  I  was  visited  by  several  of  the  cap- 
tains who  had  been  my  guests  of  the  night  before.  They 
had  felt  some  fear  for  our  safety  when  tliey  learned  that 
a  conflict  had  taken  place  between  the  guard  in  the 
street  we  passed  through  and  a  band  of  Greek  robbers. 
Two  of  the  robbers  had  been  killed.  These  must  have 
been  our  pursuers,  who,  after  we  had  eluded  them,  had 
returned,  and  attacked  the  guard.  They  were  overpow- 
ered by  a  company  of  soldiers  from  the  fort,  who  were 
making  their  rounds  to  relieve  the  guard.  Of  course  1 
knew  nothing  of  what  had  become  of  the  Swedish  cap- 
tain. I  assured  them  that  he  went  safely  on  board,  and 
was  to  have  sailed  at  sunrise,  and  that,  as  the  wind  was 
fresh  and  fair,  I  supposed  he  was  off.  I  feigned  an 
attack  of  rheumatism  as  an  excuse  for  not  going  ashore 
that  day.  The  following  day  our  consul,  hearing  I  was 
sick,  came  on  board.  From  him  I  learned  that  one  of 
the  wives  of  the  Pacha  of  the  army  had  made  her  es- 
cape by  the  aid,  it  was  supposed,  of  the  Greek  robbers, 
some  of  whom  had  been  captured  and  would  be  exe- 
cuted unless  they  told  where  their  companions  and  the 
captive  were  to  be  found.  It  was  supposed  that  she  was 
held  for  a  ransom.  A  rigid  search  was  made  on  board 
all  the  Greek  vessels,  of  which  there  were  many  lying 
in  the  harbor,  but  of  course  the  missing  lady  was  not 
found. 


THE   SEQUEL   OP   MY   ADVENTURE.  189 

Our  consul,  I  think,  had  his  suspicions  as  to  the  man- 
ner of  the  lady's  escape  from  the  palace.  He  asked  me 
to  dine  with  him,  saying  that  I,  being  a  person  so  well 
known  in  Pera,  would  be  missed  if  I  did  not  go  ashore 
and  show  myself  at  my  usual  resorts.  I  took  his  advice 
and  dined  with  him,  remaining  all  night  at  the  consul- 
ate, which  he  insisted  upon  my  making  my  home  for 
the  rest  of  my  stay.  He  w^as  too  much  of  a  gentleman 
to  question  me,  whatever  he  may  have  thought,  and  I 
deemed  it  advisable,  because  of  his  official  position,  to 
keep  him  in  ignorance  of  my  part  in  the  affair. 

Though  not  pertinent  to  this  voyage,  I  will  here  give 
tlie  sequel  of  this  adventure.  Nine  years  later,  while  in 
command  of  the  clipper-ship  Dreadnought,  arriving  in 
]N"ew  York  one  day  I  made  fast  at  my  usual  berth  at 
the  foot  of  Rector  Street,  when  Captain  Hope,  a  Sandy 
Hook  pilot  who  was  harbor-master  at  the  time,  boarded 
my  vessel  and  told  me  that  a  Swedish  brig  was  lying  at 
Pier  8,  and  that  her  captain  was  very  anxious  to  meet 
me  before  he  sailed.  The  Constantinople  episode  had 
nearly  passed  from  my  mind  in  the  exciting  years  that 
had  intervened.  As  soon  as  our  gang-plank  was  hauled 
ashore  a  lady  and  gentleman  came  on  board.  I  was 
standing  on  the  quarter-deck  with  some  custom-house 
officers  and  passengers.  The  lady,  whom  I  inmiediately 
recognized,  came  forward  and  embraced  me  with  much 
warmth,  and  the  gentleman  followed  suit.  The  pleasure 
attending  this  happy  meeting  was  shared  by  all  who  wit- 
nessed it.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  pair  were  the 
Swedish  captain  and  the  lady  whom  I  had  assisted  to 
escape  from  Constantinople.    That  truth  is  indeed  stran- 


190  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

ger  than  fiction  is  here  exemplified.  After  leaving  Con- 
stantinople their  joj  was  unspeakable  upon  discover- 
ing that  they  had  been  lovers  in  their  childhood.  She 
was  the  flaxen -haired  girl  for  whom  mj  friend  had 
pined  so  long.  When  they  parted  as  children  her  fami- 
ly went  to  Moscow,  where  they  remained  several  years, 
and  where  she  had  the  advantage  of  an  excellent  educa- 
tion and  became  a  proficient  linguist.  Her  great  beau- 
t}'  attracted  universal  attention.  She  was  courted  by 
many,  but  won  by  none.  Her  father  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  consul  at  Odessa,  but  he  gave  up  this 
place  and  they  migrated  to  Alexandria,  where  he  be- 
came a  grain  exporter.  This  frequently  necessitated 
journeys  into  the  interior  of  Egypt,  and  his  beautiful 
daughter  was  liis  constant  companion.  During  one  of 
these  excursions  their  caravan  was  assaulted  by  Arabs. 
The  men  were  slaughtered  and  robbed,  and  the  women 
were  disposed  of  among  the  chiefs.  She  fell  to  the  lot 
of  one  who  sold  her  into  the  harem  whence  she  was  res- 
cued by  us.  When  the  pair  arrived  at  Falmouth,  after 
the  rescue,  they  were  married,  and  sailed  for  Antwerp, 
where  some  of  her  jewels  were  disposed  of  to  purchase 
the  brig  which  he  commanded  when  they  paid  their  vis- 
it to  me  on  board  the  Dreadnought.  They  had  sailed 
together  around  the  world,  but  this  was  their  first  voy- 
aire  to  Kew  York.  Colonel  Graham,  now  clerk  of  the 
Court  of  Common  Pleas,  was  custom  -  house  ofiicer  in 
charge  of  my  ship  at  that  time,  and  he  lives  to  bear 
witness  that  he  heard  this  remarkable  tale  told  in  my 
cabin  by  the  Swedish  captain  at  that  time.  My  friend 
the  captain  has  since  sold  his  vessel,  and  retired  from 


A  COLLISION   IN  THE   BOSPORUS.  191 

sea -life  to  business  on  shore  in  one  of  our  Eastern 
towns. 

I  will  now  resume  the  narrative  of  my  voyage,  from 
which  I  digressed  to  tell  the  sequel  of  my  adventure  in 
Constantinople. 

The  news  had  arrived  that  the  ice  had  broken  up  at 
Odessa.  The  wind  had  changed  to  the  south-east,  and 
the  fleet  started  for  the  Euxine  Sea.  We  would  all  be 
obliged  to  stop  at  the  outer  castles  to  send  our  boats  on 
shore  to  have  our  passes  signed  before  running  out  of 
the  Bosporus,  as  permission  must  be  obtained  from  the 
Turkish  government  before  vessels  can  enter  or  leave 
the  Black  Sea.  As  the  commodore  of  the  fleet,  1  took 
the  lead,  and  anchored  for  the  night  at  Buykotere  Bay, 
since  it  was  too  late  for  the  fleet  to  pass  the  castles  be- 
fore sunset.  At  a  meeting  of  captains  held  on  my  ship 
certain  sailing  directions  were  agreed  upon  for  the  next 
day.  If  they  had  been  followed  all  would  have  been 
w^ell,  but  a  large  Austrian  ship,  determined  not  to  await 
her  turn,  came  booming  along  at  the  rate  of  ten  knots 
at  least,  and  colliding  with  me,  took  Our  starboard  cat- 
head, fore-yard,  and  jib-boom  out  of  us.  Our  anchor 
dropped  from  the  bow,  and  hung  to  twenty  fathoms  of 
chain.  We  were  compelled  to  run  over  under  the  Eu- 
ropean shore,  and  come-to  in  forty  fathoms  with  both 
anchors,  and  to  pay  out  chain  to  the  bare  end  before  we 
fetched  up,  when  we  were  so  close  to  the  rocks  that  we 
could  throw  a  biscuit  ashore.  Of  course  the  fleet  pro- 
ceeded, but  I  was  determined  to  be  in  Odessa  first  to 
take  advantage  of  the  high  freights.  I  felt  sure  the 
others  would  hug  the  shore,  and  if  they  did,  and  should 


192  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

the  wind  come  in  from  the  north-east,  after  once  get- 
ting out  into  open  water  I  might  beat  tliem  by  a  week's 
time.  The  collision  occurred  at  9  a.m.,  and  by  3  a.m. 
next  day  we  liad  another  fore-yard  crossed  and  a  jib- 
boom  rigged  out.  The  crew  were  then  sent  below  for 
rest  and  refreshments,  for  we  had  had  no  time  to  take 
anything,  with  the  exception  of  an  occasional  glass  of 
gin  and  a  biscuit. 

After  an  hour's  rest  we  started  to  get  under  way. 
The  sailor  will  understand  that  it  was  not  an  easy  task 
to  heave  in  eighty  fathoms  on  both  chains,  with  the  ship 
ranging  ahead  in  a  half  gale  aft,  a  five -knot  current 
ahead,  and  an  iron-bound  shore  close  on  board,  all  on  a 
dark  winter  morning.  It  was  eight  o'clock  before  we 
broke  ground,  and  then  the  ship  took  charge  of  us. 
She  dragged  her  port  anchor,  with  forty  fathoms  of 
chain,  out  of  the  Bosporus  into  the  Black  Sea.  It  was 
noon  before  we  were  comfortably  under  way,  with  a 
rattling  maintop-gallant  breeze,  heading  for  Tendra  Isl- 
and, with  a  falling  barometer  and  everything  indicating 
a  storm.  I  felt  sorry  for  any  poor  fellows  who  might 
be  caught  on  a  lee  shore. 

During  the  night  the  wind  increased  to  a  gale,  with 
vivid  lightning  ahead,  followed  by  heavy  peals  of  thun- 
der. Tendra  light  I  must  make  before  the  wind  changed. 
We  did  not  carry  sail,  but  dragged  it.  We  were  now 
under  double-reefed  top-sails.  At  four  o'clock  we  made 
the  light  ahead.  Then,  after  a  short  lull,  the  storm  sud- 
denly burst  upon  us  from  the  north-east,  as  it  does  on 
our  coast  from  the  north-west,  coming  butt  end  first. 
We  shaped  our  course  for  Odessa,  with  the  wind  abeam 


AT   QUARANTINE   IN   ODESSA   ROADS.  193 

and  tlie  main-sail  furled.  The  ship  was  running  under 
close -reefed  fore  and  mizzen  top  sails,  reefed  foresail, 
double  -  reefed  maintop  sail,  and  forestaj  sail.  Under 
this  canvas  we  fetched  Odessa  roads,  and  anchored.  It 
blew  too  heavily  to  communicate  with  the  shore  for  the 
rest  of  the  day  and  night.  This  was  acceptable,  as  we 
all  needed  rest.  Both  anchors  were  down,  with  long 
scopes  of  chains  out  in  good  holding  ground,  with  little 
sea  on.  We  were  safely  sheltered  deep  in  the  bight, 
when  I  ordered  all  hands  "  to  grog  and  turn  in." 

The  next  morning  the  wind  had  moderated  sufficient- 
ly to  allow  the  custom-house  boat  to  put  an  officer  on 
board.  The  regulations  at  this  port  were  that  no  vessel 
could  enter  the  mole  until  she  had  ridden  fourteen  days 
in  the  roads.  This  was  quarantine  in  earnest ;  the 
plague  was  greatly  dreaded.  During  this  time  we  were 
not  allowed  to  land.  All  written  communications  went 
through  the  smoke-rooms.  'No  boats  were  allowed 
along-side,  under  any  pretence.  If  any  cargo  was  to  be 
discharged,  lighters  were  towed  out  and  set  adrift ;  the 
ship's  boats  picked  them  up,  and  after  they  were  loaded 
they  were  once  more  set  adrift,  to  be  picked  up  by  boats 
from  the  Palatoria. 

At  the  end  of  fourteen  days,  ships  were  allowed  to 
enter  the  harbor,  which  was  protected  on  the  south  by 
a  jetty,  to  which  they  were  moored  head  on,  with  an 
anchor  astern.  The  Palatoria,  where  the  business  was 
transacted,  was  on  the  north  side,  a  long,  low  building, 
divided  into  compartments  about  six  feet  wide  and 
twenty  deep.  Three  sets  of  upright  bars  separated  us 
from  any  one  with  whom  we  might  communicate.  Be- 
9 


194  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

bind  the  first  set  a  custom-house  officer  was  stationed, 
who  observed  all  that  passed  between  the  merchant  and 
ourselves.  It  was  considered  that  the  bars  kept  persons 
sufficiently  far  enough  to  avoid  infection.  We  were 
not  allowed  to  enter  the  city  until  we  had  passed 
through  the  f umigating-room,  in  which  we  had  to  re- 
main fourteen  days.  After  fumigation  we  were  stripped 
and  kneaded  like  a  batch  of  dough,  to  see  if  there  were 
any  indications  of  boils  under  the  skin.  Our  limbs  then 
were  twisted  nearly  out  of  their  sockets,  after  which 
they  pronounced  us  fit  to  enter  the  city. 

One  ship-chandler  supplied  the  vessels  with  all  of 
their  stores.  For  this  monopoly  he  paid  the  govern- 
ment annually  eighty  thousand  silver  rubles,  which  went 
towards  the  support  of  the  opera.  The  lucky  individual 
who  kept  this  store  was  a  l^ew  Yorker.  He  had  been 
Mr.  Rhodes's  assistant  constructor  in  the  building  of  the 
Turkish  fleet,  and  afterwards  had  been  appointed  chief 
of  construction  in  the  Russian  navy.  After  he  had 
built  several  ships  of  war,  the  jealousy  of  the  Russian 
engineers  became  too  threatening  to  be  unheeded,  and 
by  the  advice  of  one  of  the  noble  ladies,  given  during  a 
reception  at  the  palace,  he  resigned  his  place.  The  Czar 
accepted  his  resignation  with  i-egret,  and  conferred  the 
title  of  Baron  upon  him,  and  granted  him  the  right 
above  mentioned.  He  and  I  were  boon  companions. 
He  had  not  seen  the  American  flag  for  many  years,  and 
was  as  delighted  as  a  boy  when  we  came  in.  He  was  a 
noble  fellow,  generous  to  a  fault. 

As  ours  was  the  only  vessel  free,  and  there  was  no 
chance  of  any  other  arrival,  the  wind  being  from  the 


A  SHIP  WRECKED  ON  THE  RIPRAPS  NEAR  ODESSA.     195 

north-east,  I  held  out  until  I  received  the  highest  freight 
ever  paid  at  that  port.  We  were  half  loaded  before  the 
first  vessels  of  the  fleet  from  which  I  had  been  separated 
made  their  appearance.  Several  of  that  fleet  were  nev- 
er heard  from,  while  others  made  harbors  in  distress. 

The  wind,  which  had  been  blowing  twenty  days  from 
the  north-east,  died  out,  and  then  came  in  from  the  south- 
west, and  blew  a  gale.  On  the  morning  of  the  second 
day  we  observed  a  vessel  with  jury  foremast  steering 
wildly  and  heading  for  the  harbor.  J^ear  the  mole  she 
took  a  lurch,  and  seemed  to  become  unmanageable.  She 
came-to  with  her  head  to  the  west  instead  of  to  the  east- 
ward. Finally  she  strnck  on  the  ripraps,  a  short  cable's 
length  outside  the  mole,  over  which  the  sea  was  break- 
ing. The  water  around  her  w^as  boiling,  and  her  de- 
struction was  inevitable.  The  spray  from  the  sea  which 
struck  her  enveloped  those  on  sliore.  It  was  like  a  rain- 
burst  near  the  equator.  At  noon  the  wind  moderated 
slightly.  The  crew  had  taken  to  the  foretop.  Her 
main-mast  was  gone,  and  her  stern  stove  in.  There  were 
no  life-saving  appliances  to  be  had,  and  we  saw  the  crew 
one  after  another  drop  into  the  sea.  Night  was  coming 
on,  and  she  was  breaking  up  fast. 


196  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

A  Bit  of  Life-saving,  of  which  the  Life-savers  of  our  Coast  would 
think  nothing. — Sued  by  the  Man  who  ran  into  me.— For  certain 
Reasons  I  disguise  my  Ship  before  Entering  the  Dardanelles,  and 
run  through  without  the  Formality  of  Waiting  for  a  Permit. — 
The  Fort  fires  at  us,  but  does  not  hit  us. 

With  a  picked  crew,  and  stripped  for  a  swim,  we  start- 
ed out  around  the  mole  in  my  whale-boat  to  save  those 
who  were  left.  The  difficulty  experienced  in  rescuing 
the  rest  of  the  wrecked  crew  I  will  not  dwell  upon.  I 
was  fully  repaid  for  the  risk  by  the  cheers  we  received 
w^hen  we  returned.  I  again  felt  myself  a  great  hero ; 
yet  the  life-saving  crews  on  our  coast  do  this  dangerous 
work  during  nearly  every  gale,  and  think  notliing  of  it. 
The  vessel  proved  to  be  the  Italian  brig  Pius  /X.,  of 
Leghorn.  As  a  reward  for  our  exploit  I  received  from 
Baron  Yon  Zuckerbocker  a  very  handsome  embossed 
snuffbox,  made  of  platinum  and  gold. 

The  Austrian  that  had  run  into  me  now  arrived. 
Her  collision  with  us  had  carried  away  her  stanchions, 
port-rail  bulwarks,  and  main  rigging.  Her  captain  im- 
mediately libelled  our  ship.  Anticipating  that  I  would 
prosecute  him  for  damages,  he  thus  assumed  to  be  the 
aggrieved  party.  His  complaint  set  forth  that  I  had 
blocked  his  passage.  I  met  him  by  a  cross-suit,  and  ev- 
idence was  taken  on  both  sides.     His  witnesses  w^ere  the 


WE   PICK   UP  A   SHIPWRECKED  CREW.  197 

Austrian,  Italian,  and  Greek  captains,  while  mine  (who 
were  outnumbered  two  to  one  by  the  others)  consisted 
of  the  English  and  Germans.  The  testimony  was  sub- 
mitted to  our  agents,  and  all  agreed  to  an  arbitration. 
After  a  week's  deliberation,  it  was  decided  that  each 
ship  should  pay  her  own  damage.  To  this  unrighteous 
judgment  I  was  compelled  to  accede,  as  my  ship  was 
nearly  ready  for  sea,  and  to  appeal  to  the  courts  would 
have  necessitated  a  delay  probably  of  months.  Each 
vessel  paid  five  hundred  dollars,  and  so  ended  this  suit  in 
admiralty.  The  lesson  taught  me  never  to  sue  or  be 
sued,  but  to  settle,  right  or  wrong,  on  the  best  terms  I 
could  make. 

My  day  for  sailing  had  arrived,  and  with  a  fair  wind 
we  started  for  Flushing,  Belgium,  where  we  were  to  re- 
ceive orders  whence  to  proceed.  The  following  day  we 
met  a  boat  with  eight  men,  who  boarded  us.  They 
proved  to  be  the  crew  of  the  Jenny  Jones,  a  brig  which 
had  been  wrecked  ten  days  previous  about  five  miles 
nortli  of  the  mouth  of  the  Danube.  I  was  glad  of  the 
acquisition  to  my  crew,  for  my  ship  was  loaded  as  deep 
as  a  sand  barge,  and  pumping  was  the  order  of  the  day 
and  night  both.  The  risk  the  ship-master  takes  in  load- 
ing too  deep  when  no  inspectors  are  near  to  watch  him 
has  sacrificed  the  life  of  many  a  brave  fellow.  It  is 
done  to  put  as  much  money  as  possible  into  the  pockets 
of  greedy  employers,  who  would  find  fault  with  him  un- 
less he  brought  his  ship  home  so  deep  that  a  few  more 
tons  would  sink  her.  What  care  they?  The  under- 
writers must  pay.  The  ship  and  cargo  are  well  insured. 
I   was  once  told,  "  Captain,  your  ship  is  well  insured. 


198  FROM   THE    FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

Take  good  care  of  her,  but  load  her  well  down.  Are 
you  sure  she  is  properly  marked  ?  The  stevedore  told 
rae  there  was  a  mistake  when  you  last  coppered  her,  and 
that  her  marks  were  a  foot  out  of  the  way.  See  that 
your  boats  are  all  right.  We  do  not  want  you  to  take 
any  risk  of  your  life,  as  we  expect  to  build  you  a  large 
ship  in  case  this  one  is  lost."  Such  suggestions  to  some 
men  I  fear  have  cost  the  underwriters  millions  of  dol- 
lars. 

Once  more  we  entered  the  Bosporus,  leaving  the 
treacherous  Black  Sea  behind.  On  approaching  the 
Golden  Horn,  a  caique,  with  an  American  flag  flying, 
caused  us  to  heave-to,  when  one  of  its  occupants  jumped 
on  board  with  a  note  from  the  consul,  saying  that  I  need 
not  anchor,  and  that  he  would  board  me  with  my  pa- 
pers. After  an  hour's  delay  he  made  his  appearance  in 
his  barge.  On  consultation  he  said  it  would  be  prudent 
for  me,  for  reasons  he  did  not  explain,  instead  of  de- 
laying, to  lay  in  a  supply  of  fresh  provisions,  to  square 
away,  set  studding-sails,  and  get  out  of  Turkish  waters. 
The  truth  is,  my  name  had  become  mixed  up  with  the 
escape  of  the  lady  whose  story  I  have  told.  In  the  cir- 
cumstances I  deemed  it  advisable  to  show  my  vessel's 
speed.  I  preferred  salt  beef  just  then  to  the  finest  poul- 
try or  other  luxuries  obtainable  in  the  market  of  Con- 
stantinople. 

The  day  was  fine,  with  a  light,  fair  wind  blowing,  and 
as  soon  as  I  was  beyond  observation  we  went  to  work 
to  disguise  the  vessel.  My  ship,  which  had  painted 
ports  in  the  morning,  was  as  black  a§  a  crow  before 
night.     All  hands  applied  the  brush  with  a  will;  for 


DISGUISING   MY  VESSEL.  19& 

sailors  are  not  fond  of  a  white -sided  ship  which  has 
to  be  scrubbed  at  times  under  most  dangerous  circum- 
stances, since  no  officer  will  bring  his  ship  into  port  with 
iron-rust  disfiguring  her  sides.  When  Jack  found  him- 
self over  the  side  with  the  black  brush,  a  Raphael  or  a 
Rubens  could  not  have  done  his  work  more  lovinglv. 
We  painted  her  to  the  water's  edge  in  two  hours.  I 
considered  black  paint  more  economical  than  white, 
should  my  owner  ask  my  reason  for  the  change. 

During  the  night  the  wind  freshened  as  we  were  run- 
ning down  the  Sea  of  Marmora,  and  just  as  we  passed 
the  island  of  that  name.  I  was  below  looking  at  my 
chart,  when  I  heard  a  call, 

"Captain,  come  up  quickly;  there  is  a  ship  close  on 
board." 

I  was  on  deck  in  an  instant,  and  ordered  the  helm 
aport.  The  stranger  took  my  toping-lift  over  his  jib- 
boom,  which  pulled  it  and  the  bowsprit  out  of  her.  As 
she  was  on  the  starboard  tack  with  a  brisk  breeze,  and 
I  running  with  starboard  studding-sails,  her  spars  were 
easily  snapped.  The  rascal  had  no  light  set.  He  begged 
me  to  stay  by  him,  and  asked  my  name,  to  which  I  re- 
plied, "Sound  your  pumps."  On  his  assuring  me  that 
be  did  not  leak,  I  wished  him  good- morning.  I  did  not 
care  to  give  him  my  name,  because  I  did  not  court  a 
lawsuit.  If  he  should  ever  meet  us  in  port  the  case 
might  go  against  me,  for  it  was  my  duty,  having  a  fair 
wind,  to  get  out  of  his  way.  An  additional  reason  w^hy 
I  did  not  obey  my  first  impulse  to  stay  by  and  help 
him,  was  that  my  time  was  too  valuable  to  waste  on  line 
sentiments. 


300  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

At  daylight  we  entered  the  Dardanelles.  We  ran  up 
the  English  flag  instead  of  ours  in  passing  Gallipoli  and 
Lamsaki.  The  current  was  very  strong,  and  so  was  the 
wind.  I  kept  the  European  shore  close  on  board,  as  the 
castles,  where  we  had  to  send  our  boats  ashore,  were  on 
the  Asiatic  side.  On  nearing  the  fort  I  took  in  the 
studding-sails,  as  though  making  ready  to  land,  but  in 
reality  1j:o  have  them  ready  for  setting  on  the  port  side 
when  I  should  shape  my  course  across  the  ^gean  Sea. 
Our  colors  were  at  half-mast,  union  down,  as  though  we 
were  in  distress.  I  yawed  my  ship  to  make  it  seem  that 
our  steering-gear  or  rudder  was  broken.  All  this  was 
done  with  intent  to  deceive.  We  wished  the  authori- 
ties to  think  that  the  ship  was  partially  unmanageable, 
and  could  not  heave-to  at  the  proper  place. 

In  this  way  we  passed  the  castles  before  the  Turks 
were  aware  of  the  fact  that  we  did  not  intend  to  stop. 
A  shot  fired  from  the  fort  fell  wide  of  us.  As  I  had 
formerly  visited  the  fort,  and  noticed  that  only  one  gun 
was  used  for  bringing  vessels  to,  I  felt  no  fear.  I  knew 
I  was  sure  to  be  out  of  range  before  a  second  shot  could 
be  fired ;  and  this  proved  to  be  the  case,  the  second  shot 
falling  short.  We  had  now  set  everything  that  would 
draw  on  the  port  side,  and  there  was  nothing  to  hinder 
us. 

The  run  to  Flushing  (I  call  it  a  run,  as  the  wind  was 
fair  during  the  whole  passage)  was  a  quick  one.  Here 
w^e  were  delayed  four  days.  I  made  the  best  use  of  the 
interval  in  visiting  Antwerp's  picture-galleries,  cathe- 
dral, and  other  noted  places.  These  visits  to  foreign 
countries,  when  the  ship-master  does  not  go  through  the 


GRANDEUR   OF   A  STORM   AT  SEA.  201 

world  blind,  recompense  him  well  for  all  tlie  privations, 
liardsliips,  and  dangers  of  his  early  life.  lie  pities  his 
friends  on  shore,  whose  lives  and  usefulness  are  confined 
within  a  radius  of  twenty  miles,  and  who  are  satisfied  to 
remain  at  home  and  read  while  he  goes  forth  and  sees 
this  beautiful  world.  Grandest  scene  of  all  that  the 
landsman  misses  is  a  storm  at  sea.  In  the  storm  man 
feels  that  it  is  his  Maker  who  is  stirring  up  the  mighty 
waters,  and  sending  forth  the  lightning  flashes  before 
the  thunder,  which  makes  even  the  insensible  ship  to 
tremble  as  if  with  fear.  It  is  then  that  mortals  feel 
tlie  truth  of  the  Psalmist's  words  when  he  says, "  They 
that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships,  that  do  business  in 
great  waters ;  these  see  the  works  of  the  Lord,  and  his 
wonders  in  the  deep." 

We  received  orders  to  go  -to  Rotterdam,  and  twenty- 
four  hours  afterwards  found  ourselves  in  that  quaint  old 
Dutch  city,  and  discharged  our  cargo.  My  owner  com- 
plimented me  upon  the  success  of  the  voyage,  and  his 
appreciation  was  substantially  expressed  in  the  permis- 
sion for  me  to  take  my  family  on  the  voyage  following. 
9* 


203  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

A  Voyage  to  Leghorn,  where  I  make  Enemies.  —  Threatened  by 
Banditti  at  Pisa,  and  Rescued  by  Officers  from  the  United  States 
Naval  Squadron.— Our  Enemies  board  us  as  we  are  about  to  Sail, 
but  Retreat  in  a  Hurry. 

My  sliip  was  now  loaded  with  a  full  cargo  of  refined 
sugar,  and  ready  for  sea.  I  had  a  picked  crew  oii  board, 
most  of  whom  had  been  with  me  on  the  voyage  pre- 
vious ;  the  ofiicers  were  the  same.  My  wife  and  two 
children  were  the  only  passengers.  We  were  bound  for 
Leghorn,  and  thence  to  Batavia.  With  a  fresh  north- 
easter we  started.  My  owner  had  cautioned  me  against 
extravagance,  and  had  not  forgotten  to  say  that  he  had 
not  insured  the  ship,  because,  as  my  family  were  on 
board,  he  considered  they  would  be  sufficient  insurance 
for  him. 

The  passage  was  pleasant  until  we  were  abreast  of 
Sardinia.  Here  a  heavy  south-wester  overtook  us,  blow- 
ing with  great  fury.  When  passing  Corsica  we  were 
under  double  reefs,  with  main-sail  furled.  The  sea  was 
running  high,  and  as  night  set  in  the  weather  became 
very  thick.  We  had  not  made  land  yet,  and  we  hauled 
np  to  slow  her  and  pick  up  the  soundings.  A  cast  of 
the  lead  showed  twenty-five  fathoms.  We  immediately 
luffed  to,  and  close-reefed  the  top-sails.  1  judged  we 
were  five  miles  from  Grenachi,  a  small  island  off  Leg- 


ON    A   LEE  SHORE   DURING  A  STORM:.  203 

horn.  A  second  cast  of  the  lead  showed  twenty  fath- 
oms. "VVe  hiffed-to  on  a  wind.  The  third  sound  was 
fifteen  fathoms.  We  wore  ship.  Still  the  water  shoaled 
rapidly,  and  we  wore  again  to  the  north-east.  The  ship 
was  making  very  heavy  weather.  It  was  10  p.m.  The 
lead  showed  eight  fathoms.  Neither  land  nor  lights 
was  in  sight,  and  the  wind  w^as  still  increasing.  The 
ship  labored  heavily,  at  times  pitching  her  bow  under 
and  lessening  her  draft.  Destruction  seemed  to  await 
us.  The  foresail  split,  and  was  blown  to  ribbons.  This 
eased  her  pitching,  but  stopped  her  headway.  We  were 
setting  almost  dead  to  leeward.     The  leadsman  cried, 

''  Six  fathoms — six  fathoms— and  a  half  five — and  a 
half  five — and  a  half  five  !" 

The  sailor  who  has  been  driven  on  a  lee  shore  in  a 
storm  knows  the  chill  that  passes  through  the  stoutest 
heart  at  such  a  time.  Death  I  never  feared.  The  ship- 
master, the  true  sailor,  has  enough  to  think  of  in  trying 
to  save  his  ship.  His  own  life  is  his  last  thought,  and 
if  he  feels  otherwise  he  is  not  only  unfit  to  command, 
but  he  degrades  the  name  of  sailor.  But  I  had  my  help- 
less little  ones  with  me. 

.  A  sudden  clap  of  thunder,  after  a  blinding  fiash  of 
lightning,  preceded  a  change  of  wind  to  the  north-east. 
At  the  same  time  a  sea  struck  us  which  fairly  buried 
the  ship,  and  two  poor  fellows  of  our  crew  never  more 
answered  to  the  muster-roll  when  the  watch  was  called. 
The  leadsman  cried,  "  Five  fathoms — ^ve  fathoms !" 

Momentarily  I  expected  the  ship  to  strike.  Our  an- 
chors were  ready  to  let  go,  but  we  should  only  have 
snapped  the  chains.     I  was  debating  the,  advisability  of 


204  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE  CABIN. 

letting  them  go,  and  had  clewed  up  the  mizzen-top  sail 
preparatory  to  keeping  her  off  before  the  wind  and  beach 
her  (as  I  had  once  seen  done,  and  all  hands  saved),  when 
the  wind  suddenly  ceased,  and  the  lightning  showed  the 
land  close  aboard.  The  roar  of  the  sea  to  leeward  warned 
lis  of  our  close  proximity  to  the  breakers.  God's  provi- 
dence alone  could  save  us.  The  ship  was  rolling  in  the 
trough  of  the  sea,  almost  rails  under,  without  wind  to 
steady  her.  Between  us  and  the  shore  was  a  white  sheet 
of  foam,  and  every  instant  we  expected  to  be  ingulfed. 

I  looked  down  the  cabin  skylight  and  saw  my  poor 
wife  on  her  knees  in  prayer.  "  And  a  half  four !"  was 
given  by  the  leadsman.  My  wife  had  heard  me  say 
that  evening  that  we  need  not  fear  striking  until  we 
shoaled  the  water  under  five  fathoms.  We  had  now 
struck  four  and  a  half.  As  she  heard  the  depth  given 
she  came  to  me  and  said, "  Fear  not.  God  has  heard 
my  prayer,  and  made  the  winds  cease.  Look !  look ! 
There  is  a  light !     Yes,  there  is  a  light !" 

At  this  time  a  light  wind  sprang  up  from  the  shore. 
We  set  all  the  canvas  to  catch  it.  This  steadied  her, 
and  we  held  our  own  by  the  lead,  and  then  began  to 
draw  ahead.  The  lights,  with  the  aid  of  the  lead, 
guided  us  around  the  Melora  Islet  into  four  fathoms, 
where  we  anchored  in  smooth  water  at  2  a.m.  Then 
for  the  first  time  I  knelt  with  my  wife  in  prayer.  Until 
now  I  had  let  her  do  all  the  praying,  thinking  it  un- 
manly to  kneel  or  pray. 

When  daylight  broke  the  whole  scene  had  changed. 
It  was  an  exquisite  Italian  morning.  There  was  scarce- 
ly a  ripple  on  the  sea,  and  we  rode  under  a  cloudless 


ARRIVAL  AT   LEGHORN-.  205 

sky.  We  were  close  to  the  harbor  of  Leghorn,  out  of 
which  the  breeze  came,  making  it  necessary  to  beat  in. 
At  sunrise  two  fehiccas  came  running  towards  us  with 
signals  flying.  I  took  them  for  pilots.  When  the  first 
came  along-side  he  at  once  asked  how  much  I  would 
pay  him  to  pilot  us  in,  telling  me  that  a  rebellion  was 
raging,  and  that  I  must  pay  war  prices.  He  wanted 
two  hundred  dollars  for  the  service.  After  much  hag- 
gling I  agreed  to  pay  eighty  dollars  for  both  crafts. 
They  were  to  take  my  hawser  and  tow  me  to  the  mole. 
Before  I  gave  them  my  hawser  they  assured  me  distinct- 
ly that  they  were  branch  pilots.  When  we  were  abreast 
of  the  harbor,  an  eight-oared  launch,  with  two  men  and 
a  uniformed  officer,  and  an  Italian  flag  flying  at  her 
stern,  hailed,  and  asked  if  I  wanted  a  pilot.  To  this  I 
replied  that  I  had  one. 

"  Those  are  not  pilots,  they  are  fishermen,"  he  said. 
He  came  on  board  and  at  once  assumed  command,  after 
displaying  his  certificate.  He  also  acted  as  harbor-mas- 
ter, and  hauled  us  hito  our  berth  between  two  American 
vessels.  The  skipper  of  one  of  these,  which  was  named 
the  Lepanto,  had  his  wife  on  board  w^ith  him.  There 
w^ere  several  other  American  vessels  in  port,  all  taking 
in  marble  and  rags  for  New  York.  The  American  cap- 
tains all  called  on  me,  as  was  the  custom.  From  them 
I  learned  that  a  rebellion  was  raging  at  Leghorn,  and 
that  mob -law  prevailed.  Americans  thus  far  had  not 
been  molested,  as  we  had  a  fleet  of  men-of-war  in  Italian 
waters  which  occasionally  visited  this  port. 

I  refused  to  pay  the  fishermen  who  had  pretended 
to  be  pilots,  for  of  course  they  were  swindlers.     They 


206  FKOM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

caused  me  to  be  taken  before  a  magistrate,  to  whom  I 
stated  my  case  after  the  fishermen  had  been  heard.  The 
judge  was  a  just  man.  "  Your  case  is  clear,"  he  said. 
"  You  have  been  imposed  upon.  But  the  city  is  in  the 
hands  of  lawless  bandits,  and  1  advise  you  to  submit  to 
the  imposition  rather  than  be  annoyed,  and  perhaps  as- 
sassinated. The  civil  authorities  can  afford  you  no  pro- 
tection." 

'''No  American,"  I  replied, " will  allow  himself  to  be 
forced  by  any  arbitrary  power,  and  I  look  to  my  consul 
for  protection." 

The  United  States  consul  was  present.  "As  the 
squadron  is  not  in  port,"  he  said,  "  I  can  afford  you 
none." 

"  Then  I  shall  endeavor  to  protect  myself,"  said  I. 

The  court -room  was  crowded  with  Italians.  There 
were  several  American  captains  with  me  who  were  glad 
I  took  this  stand,  independent  of  the  consul.  I  was  a 
young  man,  and  very  easily  led  to  act  as  champion  for 
the  rights  of  American  citizens.  Thanking  the  judge 
for  his  courteous  hearing,  I  left  the  court  amid  mutter- 
ings  of  revenge  from  the  Italians.  Had  I  been  older 
and  wiser  I  would  have  done  as  the  other  captains  had 
done — paid  all  and  saved  annoyance — but  the  spii-it  of 
young  America  was  in  me,  as  it  was  in  our  forefathers, 
who  spurned  imposition  and  servility. 

I  lived  on  board  my  ship  with  my  family,  rarely  go- 
ing ashore.  When  I  did  go  it  was  in  company  with 
several  other  captains,  and  we  were  all  well  armed.  We 
were  dogged  and  annoyed  by  the  fishermen  and  their 
friends,  but  they  did  no  overt  act  to  bring  about  a  col- 


SIGHT- SEEING.  207 

lision,  and  we  took  no  notice  of  taunts.  Mj  ship  was 
discharged  of  lier  cargo,  and  we  were  taking  in  ballast. 
One  bright  Sunday  morning  the  captain  of  the  Lepanto 
came  on  board  with  his  wife,  and  persuaded  us  to  take 
the  early  train  and  visit  Pisa,  the  vineyards,  and  the 
Baths  of  St.  Julien.  We  expected  to  sail  in  a  day  or 
two,  and  as  we  might  never  visit  this  region  again  I 
consented.  My  wife,  who  always  preferred  church  on 
Sunday  to  any  other  place,  was  opposed  to  the  trip,  but 
she  was  persuaded  finally,  as  any  other  woman  might 
have  been  at  the  prospect  of  seeing  the  Leaning  Tower, 
and  the  many  other  objects  of  interest  in  this  ancient 
city,  and  of  obtaining  a  sunset  view  of  the  Arno. 

We  arrived  at  Pisa  at  10  a.m.,  and  ordered  luncheon 
to  be  served  at  noon  at  the  hotel.  Then  with  our  guide 
we  went  sight-seeing.  This  place  is  so  familiar  to  the 
tourist  and  reader  that  I  leave  them  to  judge  of  the 
pleasure  of  our  visit.  We  returned  to  the  hotel  half 
famished,  as  we  had  taken  a  light  breakfast  in  our  hurry 
to  be  off.  We  entered  the  dining-room  in  high  spirits, 
and  seated  ourselves  to  such  a  repast  as  only  an  Italian 
can  serve.  We  had  just  begun  to  congratulate  ourselves 
upon  our  coming,  when  eight  of  the  most  villanous-look- 
ing  fellows  entered  and  seated  themselves  at  the  next 
table,  calling  in  a  loud  voice  for  wine.  I  soon  recog- 
nized these  rascals,  and  indeed  they  were  determined 
that  I  should  do  so.  To  say  that  we  were  at  ease  as  we 
heard  the  bravos  clinking  glasses  would  be  an  untruth. 
We  felt  that  some  other  place  w^ould  suit  us  better.  I 
ordered  and  paid  the  bill,  and  we  took  a  carriage  and 
drove  to  the  Baths  of  St.  Jnljen,  passing  on  our  way 


208  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

some  of  the  richest  vineyards  in  Italy.  At  St.  Julien 
we  bathed  in  tlie  noted  hot  sulphur  springs,  had  lunch, 
and  enjoyed  ourselves  generally.  We  left  in  time  to 
arrive  at  Pisa  by  six  o'clock,  and  to  have  dinner  at  a 
hotel  near  the  depot. 

We  had  just  seated  ourselves  before  a  well-selected 
meal  when  in  walked  our  annoyers  of  the  morning. 
They  seated  themselves  at  the  next  table,  and  ordered 
wine.  Our  appetites  suddenly  left  us,  and  we  were  sat- 
isfied with  the  first  glass  we  took.  We  feared  that  even 
that  contained  poison,  for  our  guide  had  told  us  that 
some  of  the  innkeepers  were  in  league  with  the  ban- 
ditti. We  deemed  it  prudent  to  leave  the  hotel  with- 
out delay.  The  train  was  not  due  until  eight  o'clock, 
and  we  had  nearly  an  hour  and  a  half  to  wait  at  the  de- 
pot. We  had  not  waited  half  that  time  when  the  same 
villanous  gang  niade  their  Appearance  on  the  platform. 
They  had  been  reinforced  by  several  others.  The  one 
who  seemed  to  be  the  leader  we  had  not  seen  before ;  a 
more  rascally  cutthroat  I  have  never  set  eyes  on.  He 
wore  a  short,  blue  military  cloak,  his  sword  hanging  a 
foot  below  it.  On  his  head  was  a  fur  cap.  He  had  lost 
one  eye,  apparently  from  a  sword-cut,  as  a  deep  gash 
extended  from  his  temple  to  his  cliin. 

This  fellow  strutted  up  and  down  the  platform,  eying 
ns.  Unquestionably  the  gang  were  bent  on  mischief. 
Their  loud  talking  and  half-drunken  songs  were  very 
disagreeable.  They  marched  so  close  to  us  that  we  had 
to  keep  changing  our  position  to  avoid  being  jostled. 
They  must  have  numbered  over  twenty. 

Suddenly  we  heard  the  whistle  of  a  locomotive  ap- 


PROTECTED   BY   UNITED   STATES  OFFICERS.  309 

proacliing  from  Leghorn.  There  was  no  train  due  from 
that  direction,  and  for  some  reason  the  whistle  created 
confusion  among  the  banditti.  Thej  grasped  their  dag- 
gers as  though  expecting  an  attack,  and  at  a  signal  from 
their  captain  massed  themselves  closely  together.  When 
the  train  stopped  in  front  of  us  our  astonishment  was 
great  to  see  several  United  States  naval  officers,  f nlly 
armed,  step  out  upon  the  platform  and  surround  us. 
Tlie  curses  and  mutterings  that  escaped  from  the  disap- 
pointed cutthroats  were  quite  unheeded  by  our  brave 
fellows,  who  assured  the  ladies  that  they  had  nothing  to 
fear,  as  they  were  quite  equal  to  twice  the  number  of 
those  cowardly  villains. 

It  appeared  that  the  squadron  had  arrived  from  Civita 
Yecchia  that  afternoon,  and  that  when  some  of  the  offi- 
cers landed  they  had  ascertained  that  we  had  gone  to 
Pisa.  Knowing  the  distracted  state  of  the  country,  they 
had  at  once  armed  themselves  and  taken  a  special  car  in 
search  of  us.  There  was  no  time  lost  in  switching  on 
to  the  down  track.  We  did  not  want  the  regular  down 
train  to  precede  us,  for  fear  the  rascals  would  get  off  and 
attempt  to  wreck  us.  When  we  boarded  our  car  they 
started  to  follow,  but  our  revolvers  were  looking  into 
their  faces,  and  they  concluded  to  remain  where  they 
were. 

On  our  return  to  the  city  we  took  a  whole  hotel  for 
the  night,  and  ordered  the  host  to  close  up.  Then  sit- 
ting down  to  a  jolly  good  supper,  we  paid  no  heed  to 
the  clamors  of  the  villains  outside,  who  arrived  about 
two  hours  after  us.  A  crowd  finally  collected  in  the 
street  and  threatened  to  pull  the  house  down  if  the  doors 


210  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

were  ftot  opened.  We  baiTicaded  tlie  doors.  A  lively 
time  we  would  have  had,  had  they  broken  in.  The  noise 
was  kept  up  until  daylight,  when  they  departed.  Then 
we  had  a  good  breakfast,  and  rewarding  the  landlord  lib- 
erally we  left  for  our  ships.  Should  this  meet  the  eyes 
of  the  brave  officers  who  came  to  us  with  such  timely 
aid,  let  them  be  assured  that  my  gratitude  to  them  has 
not  diminished  in  all  these  years.  Undoubtedly  it  was 
the  intention  of  these  scoundrels  to  steal  my  wife  and 
hold  her  for  ransom,  as  they  knew  that  I  had  a  large 
amount  of  money  subject  to  my  order  in  Leghorn.  On 
the  following  Tuesday  our  squadron  sailed  again  on  a 
cruise.  The  next  day  1  was  notified  by  my  banker  that 
on  Thursday  eighty  thousand  dollars  which  I  was  to 
take  on  my  voyage  would  be  ready  at  11  a.m.,  and  that 
he  would  not  be  responsible  for  it  after  that  hour.  It 
is  well  known  that  in  those  days  the  only  money  that 
passed  current  in  the  Indies  was  the  old  Spanish  pillar 
dollar.  The  eighty  thousand  dollars  was  in  this  money. 
To  carry  such  a  quantity  of  silver  through  streets  tilled 
with  lawless  ruffians  was  of  course  very  hazardous.  On 
the  morning  in  question  we  were  ready  to  sail,  for  it 
would  not  be  safe  to  remain  in  the  harbor  overnight 
with  this  treasure  on  board.  Sixty  seamen  belonging  to 
the  various  American  ships  in  the  harbor  marched  to  my 
bankers  as  a  guard  to  escort  the  treasure  to  my  vessel. 
These  with  my  crew  presented  no  mean  force  in  oppo- 
sition to  the  villanous  rabble  who  lined  the  streets  and 
looked  on,  but  had  sense  enough  not  to  molest  us  on  our 
way.  As  soon  as  the  money  was  stowed  in  the  cabin  we 
unmoored  and  ran  up  our  colors,  and  began  to  haul  out, 


BOARDED   BY   PIRATES.  211 

and  when  we  readied  the  end  of  the  jetty  we  set  sail. 
I  was  in  the  cabin  witli  a  nnmber  of  my  friends  the  cap- 
tains when  my  cliief  officer  announced  that  about  twen- 
ty Italians  had  come  over  the  side  and  demanded  to  see 
me.  I  had  forbidden  him  to  allow  any  boats  along-side, 
but  he  said  they  had  forced  themselves  on  board.  I  im- 
mediately armed  myself  and  went  on  deck,  followed  by 
my  friends.  There,  near  the  cabin  door,  stood  that  vil- 
lanous-looking  rascal  whom  I  have  described  as  the  lead- 
er of  the  gang  of  the  Sunday  night  previous  at  Pisa.  I 
did  not  parley  with  him,  but  pointed  my  pistol  at  his 
head.  That  one  eye  of  his  soon  convinced  him  that  I 
meant  to  shoot  if  he  did  not  leave,  and  it  was  a  ludi- 
crous sight  to  see  these  braggarts  of  a  few  moments  be- 
fore scampering  over  the  rail  and  tumbling  into  their 
boats.  The  boarding  -  pikes  and  cutlasses  which  were 
pointed  at  them  by  my  crew  as  soon  as  they  saw  me 
raise  my  pistol  at  the  ringleader,  were  too  much  for  the 
nerves  of  the  thieving  gang. 


313  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

We  are  Chased  by  two  Boats  filled  with  Pirates.  —  We  Stop  the 
Chase  by  Firing  a  Load  of  Grape  and  Canister  into  each 
Boat. — It's  a  Fortunate  Sailor  who  gets  Shark  for  Dinner. — Ten 
Enjoyable  Hours  at  Cape  Town. — We  enter  Batavia  in  Company 
with  the  Prince  of  Saxe- Weimar,  whom  I  am  the  means  of  get- 
ting on  Shore  Dry-shod. — The  Wonders  of  Chinese  Ship-carpen- 
tering.— Driving  Evil  Spirits  out  of  the  Hawse-pipes. 

My  friends  now  left  us,  and  we  squared  away,  with 
studding-sails  on  both  sides,  to  a  four- knot  breeze. 
About  tliree  o'clock  the  breeze  began  to  freshen,  and  at 
^ve  o'clock  we  were  twelve  miles  from  shore,  when  I 
felt  somewhat  uneasy  at  seeing  two  small  vessels  steer- 
ing directly  for  us,  and  gaining  rapidly.  Mj  uneasiness 
grew  when  they  got  close  enough  for  me  to  see  that 
they  were  the  two  fishing-craft  that  had  offered  to  be 
my  pilots,  and  that  they  were  crowded  with  men.  I 
had  no  doubt  they  meant  to  board  us.  Piracy  was  a 
well-known  crime  in  the  Mediterranean.  They  could 
pillage  and  sink  our  ship,  and  she  would  merely  be  re- 
ported at  home  as  "  missing."  In  a  moment  I  decided 
upon  my  line  of  action.  I  had  two  twelve-pound  car- 
ronades  on  board.  These  were  brought  aft,  aud  loaded 
to  the  muzzle  with  grape  and  canister.  I  did  not  in- 
tend to  let  these  rascals  come  within  pistol  range  of  us. 

We  had  changed  our  course  four  points  on  two  occa- 


WE  BRING  OUR  CARRONADES  INTO   USE.  213 

sions,  to  be  certain  tliat  they  were  following  lis,  and  in 
each  case  they  changed  theirs,  pointing  directly  for  us. 
The  gap  between  us  lessened  rapidly.  I  no  longer  need- 
ed the  telescope  to  distinguish  their  piratical  visages. 
Below  me  was  the  ship  and  treasure  for  which  I  was  re- 
sponsible, as  well  as  for  the  lives  on  board.  To  hesitate 
longer  would  have  been  criminal.  I  must  say  that  my 
Christian  spirit  forsook  me  for  the  time,  and  that  I  felt 
a  grim  satisfaction  in  anticipating  revenge  for  the  Pisa 
episode,  and  in  having  an  opportunity  to  blow  these 
dogs  out  of  water.  The  sun  was  about  setting,  and  the 
land  just  visible  astern.  I  had  taken  in  the  port  stud- 
ding-sails to  let  everything  draw  well  on  the  starboard 
quarter,  to  increase,  if  possible,  our  speed.  Further,  I 
could  do  nothing  to  avoid  being  boarded,  except  to  sink 
our  pursuers  before  they  came  too  close.  My  crew  were 
too  few  to  meet  their  number  at  close  quarters.  I  took 
good  aim  at  the  nearest  craft,  which  was  now  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  off. 

The  pirates  saw  my  movement,  and  dropped  flat  on 
their  decks,  firing  at  me  as  they  saw  me  apply  the  red- 
hot  salamander  to  the  gun.  The  next  instant  their  yells 
rent  the  air.  There  was  no  occasion  for  a  second  shot, 
as  the  first  took  the  mast  out  of  the  boat  it  was  aimed 
at,  and  swept  her  decks.  The  second  craft  luffed  to  to 
get  out  of  our  reach.  She  was  not  so  close  to  us  as  the 
one  fired  into,  but  I  was  determined  to  cripple  her  if 
possible,  to  prevent  her  from  crawling  up  to  us  during 
the  night.  As  she  was  broadside  to,  she  presented  a 
good  mark.  I  fired  my  second  gun,  and  the  grape  and 
canister  did  their  work.     Her  sails  were  riddled  and  her 


214  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

gaff  dropped.  The  water  around  her  was  ploughed  up 
as  tliougli  struck  bj  a  tornado.  How  many  were  killed 
or  hurt  I  never  knew. 

We  kept  our  course,  with  the  wind  over  our  starboard 
quarter,  till  nightfall,  then  edged  off  on  the  regular 
course,  to  pass  about  four  miles  north  of  Corsica.  We 
had  a  fine  run  out  of  the  Mediterranean,  as  we  caught 
the  north-east  trades  directly  after  leaving  Gibraltar. 
We  ran  close  by  the  Madeira,  Canary,  and  Cape  Yerd 
Islands  towards  the  equator,  passing  through  the  dol- 
drums with  very  little  delay  on  our  way  down.  The 
monoton}?-  of  the  voyage  was  broken  by  the  occasional 
harpooning  of  a  porpoise.  When  a  fish  of  this  kind  is 
caught,  it  is  a  time  of  rejoicing,  especially  if  fresh  stock 
has  given  out.  The  porpoise  is  served  at  sea  in  a  style 
that  would  put  the  chef  of  Delmonico's  to  the  blush. 
Only  a  sea  cook  has  the  taste,  or  knows  how  to  produce 
from  this  sea-hog  the  most  delicious  roasts,  fricassees,  and 
triple-deck  pot-pies  ;  while  as  for  the  hash — oh,  ye  shade 
of  the  boarding-house  marm !  your  house  would  be  im- 
mortalized in  praise  instead  of  execrations  if  you  could 
deck  your  tables  with  so  dainty  a  dish.  To  the  liver  no 
jpate  defois  gras  can  compare. 

A  dolphin  was  occasionally  secured,  and  also  the  fly- 
ing fish,  which  is  caught  in  a  flat  net  suspended  under 
the  martingale,  with  a  light  directly  over  it  to  attract 
the  fish  at  night,  but  these  dainty  morsels  are  exclusive- 
ly for  the  cabin  table.  The  bonetta,  when  a  school  is 
struck,  is  a  godsend,  and  a  clear  gain  to  the  ship-owner. 
We  eat  it  cooked  in  various  styles ;  but  Jack  tires  of  it 
after  a  few  days,  and  asks  for  his  salt  beef.     Jack  is  a 


lliii|l!ii'^:ax::..  i|l!:r  i!ilillilllilllllllllililliiiillilil!li!!llli!lilliiil!lllliiii 


ORIGIN   OF  A   TIME-HONORED  CUSTOM.  217 

queer  coinpoiind.  Of  salt  beef  and  pork  he  never  tires ; 
and  it  is  a  well-known  fact  that  many  a  row  has  been 
caused  on  shipboard  by  feeding  him  on  poultry  and 
fresh  meat.  I  have  frequently  heard  him  growl  against 
chickens  in  the  Eastern  Hemisphere.  As  to  turtle, 
when  I  was  before  the  mast  I  saw  turtles  strangled  to 
prevent  the  skipper  from  giving  us  steaks  and  soup 
after  the  fourth  day. 

On  crossing  the  equator  the  men  had  the  usual  sport 
with  an  unlncky  fellow  who  had  not  crossed  the  line 
before.  Of  my  Dutch  crew,  some  had  been  in  the  East 
India  service  many  years,  and  were  well  up  in  Neptune's 
part  in  the  shaving  process.  This  time-honored  custom, 
it  is  said,  was  founded  by  a  Dutch  captain,  whose  father 
was  the  first  man  to  cross  the  equator  The  venture- 
some mariner  never  returned,  but  in  a  vision  his  spirit 
appeared  to  his  good  frau  in  great  glory  as  King  of  the 
Ocean,  with  a  home  on  the  equator,  and  to  see  him  thus 
honored  was  enough  to  encourage  her  to  send  her  six 
sons  to  sea. 

I  enjoyed  the  day  very  much,  especially  as  I  discov- 
ered the  culprits  who  had  been  stealing  my  gin.  The 
bottle  was  kept  in  the  pantry,  next  to  which  were  the 
officers'  quarters.  Both  had  disclaimed  any  knowledge 
as  to  its  disappearance.  The  chief  mate  suggested  that 
it  was  the  mischievous  monkey  I  had.  The  second  offi- 
cer suggested  evaporation,  due  to  the  great  heat  in  these 
latitudes.  To  solve  the  mystery  I  dosed  the  gin,  and 
about  11  A.M.  went  on  deck  to  take  the  sun.  My  offi- 
cers did  the  same.  Presently  the  mate  had  a  call  to  the 
cabin,  and  when  he  returned  the  second  officer  wanted 
10 


218  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

to  go  below  for  a  minute.  I  apparently  paid  no  atten- 
tion to  this  backing  and  filling,  and  at  eight  bells  we  all 
went  down  to  work  up  our  observations.  This  done,  I 
asked  the  officers  to  take  a  glass  of  bitters  before  dinner, 
and  called  for  the  bottle.  When  it  was  brought  it  was 
empty.  Of  course  no  one  knew  anything  about  it.  At 
two  bells  the  dinner-bell  rang.  I  asked  the  stewardess 
the  cause  of  the  absence  of  the  officers  from  the  table. 
They  had  no  appetite,  she  replied.  After  dinner  I  dis- 
covered the  second  mate  stretched  out  on  the  forecastle 
in  a  most  pitiable  plight,  from  the  effects  of  the  dose 
that  I  had  put  into  the  gin.  Thinking  he  was  poisoned, 
he  said,  in  his  native  tongue,  "Ach^  mein  Gott  im  Him- 
mel^  ich  hin  todt  .^"  lie  had  taken  the  longest  swig  at  the 
bottle,  but  the  chief  mate  was  almost  as  bad.  Both  lost 
their  taste  for  gin  from  that  time.  I  think  the  remedy 
might  be  advantageously  employed  in  our  inebriate 
asylums.  Of  course  this  method  of  discovering  unlaw- 
ful tipplers  is  old  ;  I  do  not  for  a  moment  claim  to  have 
been  its  originator.  I  met  the  first  officer,  years  after, 
in  command  of  a  ship.  The  scare  I  gave  him,  added  to 
the  shame  he  felt,  had  made  him  forswear  the  use  of 
liquor  ever  afterwards.  The  bottle  had  been  his  weak- 
ness ;  had  it  not  been,  he  would  have  been  in  command 
much  earlier.  Good  effects  are  worked  by  strange  de- 
vices at  times. 

We  met  the  south-east  trades  well  to  the  southward, 
and  had  a  rattling  run  to  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  We 
put  in  to  Cape  Town  for  water,  as  that  which  we  had  taken 
at  Leghorn  in  casks  purchased  there  was  entirely  unfit 
for  use.    Here  I  was  very  politely  received  by  the  consul, 


THE   PRINCE   OF  SAXE-WEIMAR.  219 

a  splendid  fellow  from  Virginia,  who  sliowed  us  every 
attention.  He  let  us  see  something  of  Hottentot  life, 
giving  us  a  spin  into  the  country.  The  ten  hours  passed 
at  Cape  Town  were  among  the  most  enjoyable  of  my 
life.  We  had  nothing  to  detain  us  longer,  and  the  casks 
being  filled,  we  started  for  the  run  across  the  Indian 
Ocean. 

We  ran  down  to  St.  Paul,  where  we  stopped  for  a  few 
hours,  and  found  the  island  which  I  have  before  de- 
scribed. When  I  was  last  upon  it  it  was  deserted,  but 
now  it  was  inhabited  by  a  Pole  and  some  followers. 
He  said  that  when  he  landed  he  had  found  some  wild 
pigs,  chickens,  and  ducks.  These  were  probably  the 
ones  left  by  Captain  Drinker  eight  years  previous,  when 
I  was  with  him  in  the  /St.  Lawrence.  The  animals  had 
greatly  multiplied.  From  the  Pole  we  obtained  quan- 
tities of  fresh  fish  and  a  few  vegetables.  Then  we  filled 
away  on  our  voyage. 

We  had  extraordinary  good-luck,  for  on  the  seventy- 
eighth  day  from  Leghorn  we  sighted  Java  Head.  The 
same  evening  we  entered  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  through 
which  we  passed,  running  into  the  Java  Sea  before  day- 
light, and  then  shaped  our  course  for  Batavia.  When 
the  day  broke,  we  found  ourselves  along-side  the  Dutch 
frigate  Admiral  De  Ruyter^  bound  in.  She  had  left 
Holland  the  day  after  us  with  the  Prince  of  Saxe-Wei- 
mar,  who  was  to  take  command  of  the  Dutch  forces 
against  the  Ballyneese — a  tribe  in  rebellion  against  the 
Dutch.  We  anchored  at  the  same  time  in  the  bay 
where  the  fleet  were  awaiting  the  prince's  arrival. 

It  may  not  seem  amiss  to  the  young  reader  if  I  name 


220  FROM  THE   FOKECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


CHINESE   JUNK. 


a  few  of  the  peculiarities  of  the  Chinese  sailors  and  their 
junks.  Three  of  these  singular-looking  crafts  were  ly- 
ing in  the  bay,  riding  to  a  kayar  hawser  bent  to  an  an- 
chor made  from  the  crotch  of  a  tree — the  trunk  being  the 
shank  and  the  limb  the  fluke.  The  anchor  was  heavily 
weighted  and  pointed  with  iron  to  force  itself 'into  and 
gripe  the  bottom.  Their  sails  of  matting  were  stiffened, 
longitudinally  to  the  mast,  by  bamboo,  to  which  were 
laced  the  reefs.     The  rudder  showed  a  want  of  genius. 


CURIOUS  CUSTOM   OF  THE   CHINESE.  221 

This  necessary  appendage  to  a  ship's  stern  was  shaped 
like  a  barn  door,  and  had  holes  bored  through  to  relieve 
the  lateral  pressure  in  a  brisk  breeze,  when  it  required 
the  whole  crew  of  sixteen  or  twenty  men  to  steer  her 
with  a  tiller  reaching  nearly  the  length  of  the  poop.  An 
eye  was  painted  on  each  bow.  As  John  Chinaman  says, 
"  No  liaDee  eye,  how  can  see  T 

In  the  after-part  of  the  cabin  an  altar  was  erected  to 
the  evil  spirits.  Upon  it  fruits  and  flowers  were  offered 
to  his  Satanic  Majesty,  whom  they  sought  to  conciliate. 
They  believe  that  God  is  too  good  to  punish,  and  re- 
quires no  offerings.  At  night,  when  the  anchor  watch 
was  set,  and  before  all  hands  turned  in,  they  mustered 
around  the  altar.  Each  man  had  a  flat  piece  of  bamboo, 
or  gong,  with  which  the  most  hideous  noise  was  begun. 
Starting  from  the  cabin,  they  kept  up  the  racket  all  over 
the  vessel,  driving  the  evil  spirits  before  them,  and  so 
out  of  the  hawse-pipes.  They  made  but  one  voyage  a 
year  from  China,  being  able  to  sail  only  with  a  favorable 
monsoon,  and  to  return  only  with  the  change.  On  land- 
ing I  found  Mr.  Morris,  our  consul,  ready  to  meet  me. 
This  scholarly  gentleman  had  represented  the  American 
interest  for  many  years.  His  private  means  enabled 
him  to  give  sumptuous  entertainments.  He  was  lacking 
in  only  one  requisite — a  wife. 


FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 


CHAPTER   XVII. 

The  Landing  of  the  Prince  of  Saxe- Weimar.— Fine  Living  at  an 
Aristocratic  Hotel  a  few  Miles  out  of  Batavia. — I  Spend  nearly  a 
Year's  Income  there  in  Five  Weeks. — Attentions  to  my  Wife,  who 
was  tlie  first  American  Lady  that  ever  Visited  the  Place. — Our  De- 
parture from  Batavia  by  Night  amid  Fireworks  and  Music,  and  a 
Wonderful  Display  of  Phosphorescence  in  the  Sea. — I  am  Washed 
Overboard  in  a  Gale  off  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

The  following  day  great  preparations  were  made  for 
the  landing  of  the  prince.  The  ceremony  took  place  at 
10  A.M.  All  the  dignitaries  and  the  military  were  drawn 
up  at  the  landing.  The  Bay  of  Batavia  is  an  open  road- 
stead. Two  long  jetties,  about  one  hundred  feet  apart, 
formed  an  artificial  harbor  for  the  convenience  of  light- 
ers and  small  boats.  These  could  enter  to  land  their 
cargo  only  when  tlie  land-breeze  is  blowing,  as  the  bar 
at  the  mouth  of  the  harbor  was  too  dangerous  to  cross 
when  the  sea-breeze  set  in. 

Amid  the  booming  of  guns  from  the  fleet  and  fort, 
the  navy  flotilla  of  small  boats  pulled  up  towards  the 
steps,  abreast  of  the  custom-house.  Our  consul  and  1 
were  near  by,  witnessing  the  grand  ceremony.  As  the 
barge  with  the  prince  came  near  the  landing  she  ground- 
ed about  ten  feet  from  the  steps,  the  water  being  too 
shoal  for  her  to  get  along-side.  The  confusion  among 
the  plilegmatic  Dutchmen  amused  us  much.  While  a 
Hollander  is  thinking,  an  American  is  acting.     When  I 


KOYALTY  STUCK   IN  THE   MUD.  228 

saw  their  difficulty,  I  jumped  upon  a  float  on  which 
some  calkers  were  working  at  the  sides  of  a  lighter. 
Casting  it  off,  I  pushed  it  between  the  barge  and  the 
steps,  and  offered  my  hand  to  the  prince,  which  he  ac- 
cepted, stepping  over  the  float  to  the  landing. 

I  saw  nothing  more  in  this  than  in  any  other  act  of 
presence  of  mind  and  politeness.  That  he  was  a  royal 
personage,  the  uncle  of  Queen  Victoria,  and  invested  with 
powers  superior  to  those  of  tlie  governor,  did  not  give 
me  a  thought — excejDt  the  thought  that  it  was  somewhat 
ludicrous  to  see  so  much  dignity  stuck  in  the  mud.  I 
don't  believe  that  his  Royal  Highness  was  overpleased 
with  the  stupidity  of  the  authorities  in  not  knowing  that 
the  water  was  too  shoal  to  land  the  barge.  He  was  such 
an  immense  man,  it  w^s  not  considered  safe  to  bring  him 
ashore  in  a  small  boat.  For  a  young  Yankee  to  ap- 
proach his  august  person  and  offer  his  hand,  no  doubt 
seemed  to  the  authorities  little  less  than  sacrilege ;  but 
the  assistance  was  pohtely  acknowledged,  nor  was  it  for- 
gotten when  1  was  presented  to  the  prince  by  Mr.  Mor- 
ris that  evening  at  the  governor's  ball.  I  was  not  a 
stranger  to  the  Dutch  officers  of  the  fleet  and  army,  for 
I  had  met  many  of  them  in  Holland  when  trading  there. 
In  Holland  I  was  nicknamed  "  the  young  devil  of  New 
York."  The  expedition  was  leaving  Holland  when  I 
sailed  for  Leghorn,  and  for  me  to  run  to  Leghorn,  dis- 
charge my  cargo,  and  arrive  with  them  at  Batavia  was 
considered  a  wonderful  feat.  I  certainly  had  had  a  very 
quick  passage. 

Our  stay  at  Batavia  was  notable  for  the  luxurious  life 
we  led  there.     I  felt   bound   to  keep  up   the  tide  of 


224  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

American  lavishness,  especially  as  my  wife  was  with  me. 
She  was  the  first  American  lady  who  had  visited  the 
place,  and  we  received  much  attention.  On  the  recom- 
mendation of  Mr.  Morris  we  were  domiciled  at  the  aris- 
tocratic hotel  in  Buytenzorich,  a  few  miles  out  of  Bata- 
via.  The  whites  did  not  live  in  the  city,  which  was  a 
perfect  pest-hole,  fatal  as  a  residence  to  any  but  natives, 
who  did  the  counting-house  work.  The  merchants  and 
captains  met  at  the  merchants'  offices  once  a  day  to 
transact  business,  which  was  generally  concluded  before 

10  A.M. 

Our  hotel  was  most  beautifully  situated,  facing  the 
main  road  and  standing  back  about  fifty  feet.  The 
building  was  eighty  feet  square,  one  story  high,  and 
raised  six  feet  from  the  ground.  It  contained  but  four 
rooms,  used  as  parlors,  with  two  wide  halls  crossing  at 
the  centre  and  leading  to  covered  verandas  sixteen  feet 
wide  on  all  sides  of  the  building.  The  east  side  was 
used  as  a  dining  saloon.  It  faced  a  garden  filled  with 
the  rarest  tropical  plants  and  flowers,  with  fountains 
interspersed.  Here  the  military  band  played  soft  airs 
from  the  operas.  On  another  side  of  the  hotel  extended 
a  row  of  one -story  buildings,  which  were  mostly  con- 
nected, and  let  in  suites  of  two  to  four  rooms  each. 
Back  of  them  was  a  stream  of  limpid  water  running 
over  a  sandy  bottom,  in  which  the  luxury  of  a  bath  was 
complete.  To  each  suite  of  rooms  two  or  more  servants 
were  assigned.  These  were  your  shadows  during  your 
stay  at  the  hotel.  If  you  had  but  two,  one  acted  as 
your  valet,  and  the  other  as  coachman,  for  a  carriage 
was  assigned  to  you  when  you  engaged  rooms.      No 


STYLE   OF   LIVING   IN   BATAVIA.  225 

one  walked,  the  heat  being  too  excessive.  We  arose  at 
6  A.M.,  had  a  cup  of  coffee— this  is  the  place  for  that 
aromatic  beverage — and  mounted  our  horses  for  a  ride 
of  ten  or  twenty  miles  over  perfect  government  roads. 
Home  again,  we  were  rubbed  down,  and  had  a  bath, 
with  another  cup  of  coffee  and  rolls.  Then  the  carriage 
took  us  to  the  city.  Returning,  we  again  bathed,  then 
took  breakfast  a  la  fourchette,  and  afterwards  chatted 
and  smoked.  The  siesta  time  lasted  until  four  o'clock, 
which  hour  was  announced  by  a  gong.  Then  once  more 
a  bath,  and  a  glass  of  bitters. 

The  dinner  at  six  o'clock  was  served  in  true  Orien- 
tal style.  The  edibles  were  veiy  savory,  and  the  wines 
most  costly.  The  flowers  and  the  hundreds  of  varie- 
gated lanterns  lent  enchantment  to  the  feast,  which 
lasted  about  two  hours.  Then  come  the  gayeties  of  the 
evening,  either  a  ball,  reception,  the  opera,  or  a  drive. 
On  a  drive  your  footman  carried  a  large  flambeau,  and 
when  many  were  driving,  the  lights  produced  a  brilliant 
scene.     The  roads  were  not  otherwise  lighted. 

Society  conventionalities  were  punctiliously  observed. 
The  gentlemen  in  full  dress  suffered  more  from  the  heat 
than  the  ladies  in  their  light  gauze  dresses.  At  the 
opera  the  gentlemen  occupied  seats  behind  the  ladies, 
to  fan  them  during  the  play. 

It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  women  in  this  cli- 
mate should  become  unwieldy  and  lose  their  beauty 
early  in  life.  The  men,  though  not  drinkers  in  the 
common  acceptation  of  that  term,  are  not  abstainers. 
But  while  the  Dutch  are  too  sober  a  people  ever  to  be 
intoxicated,  they  eat  well.  On  leaving  their  native  land 
10* 


226     FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

tliey  do  not  leave  their  habits.  Tliese  habits,  when  in- 
dulged in  an  equatorial  climate,  make  sad  havoc  with  a 
man.  The  Dutchman  in  Batavia  has  been  likened  unto 
a  goose  in  a  hot  oven,  whose  liver  becomes  abnormally 
large  from  over-feeding  and  heat.  When  an  East  India 
merchant  returns  home  with  his  riches,  he  brings  also  a 
diseased  liver. 

An  object  of  much  interest  to  us  was  the  museum. 
Among  the  East  India  curiosities  I  saw  skeletons  of  the 
antediluvian  ages.  Java  boasts  of  its  large  crocodiles, 
which  are  held  sacred  by  some  sects.  I  saw  the  lower 
jaw  of  one  of  these  creatures,  which,  when  placed  against 
the  wall  in  an  upright  position,  reached  from  the  floor 
four  feet  above  my  head.  Tradition  says  that  this  mon- 
ster was  thirty  feet  long.  The  Yalley  of  Death  was 
also  very  interesting  to  us.  Though  the  npas-tree  was 
not  in  bloom,  we  did  not  venture  near  its  shade.  The 
poison  streams  near  by,  we  were  informed,  would  kill 
any  living  tiling  tliat  attempted  to  swim  in  them. 

Though  my  orders  were  to  await  advices  from  Am- 
sterdam before  purchasing  a  cargo,  I  took  the  responsi- 
bility of  availing  myself  of  the  low  market.  I  did  this 
under  the  advice  of  Mr.  Morris,  who  had  been  a  mer- 
chant, as  well  as  consul,  for  twenty  years.  By  delaying 
I  would  have  come  in  competition  with  others,  who  were 
also  waiting  for  news  from  Europe.  We  loaded  with 
coffee,  arrack,  sandal  and  lance  wood,  cochineal,  some 
spices,  and  rattan,  making  up  the  rest  of  our  cargo  for 
other  shippers.  We  had  been  just  five  weeks  in  Bata- 
via when  we  were  ready  for  sea.  I  did  not  anticipate  a 
very  quick  passage  home,  as  on  the  morning  prior  to 


GORaEOUS   PHOSPHORESCENT  DISPLAY.  227 

our  departure  we  discovered  that  our  mizzen-mast-liead 
was  badly  rotted,  which  showed  itself  after  the  rigging 
had  been  set  up.  This  discovery  was  not  known  on 
shore. 

The  night  before  our  departure  Mr.  Morris  gave  a 
ball  of  Oriental  grandeur  in  our  honor.  Our  start,  which 
was  made  at  evening,  was  attended  by  a  display  of  fire- 
works and  music  from  tlie  fleet.  We  set  sail  to  a  very 
light  breeze  from  the  land.  The  full  moon  had  just 
risen  above  the  mountain-tops  to  shed  her  silvery  splen- 
dor on  the  bay.  The  sea  was  without  a  ripple,  and  only 
disturbed  by  the  men-of-war  boats  which  had  come  to 
take  lines  to  assist  us  seaward,  while  their  officers  en- 
joyed a  supper  prepared  for  the  occasion.  While  dan- 
cing was  the  order  on  the  quarter-deck,  I  was  forward 
enjoying  the  gorgeous  phosphorescent  display  caused  by 
the  rowers  in  the  boats.  All  pulled  together  to  one 
song,  with  the  chorus  from  a  hundred  voices.  As  the 
oars  dipped  it  was  seemingly  into  liquid  silver,  and  as 
they  rose  it  seemed  as  -though  myriads  of  diamonds 
dropped  from  them.  To  enhance  the  enchantment  to 
the  scene,  the  sharks  with  which  the  bay  abounds  shot 
hither  and  thither,  leaving  streaks  in  their  wake  like 
flashes  of  forked  lightning. 

At  11  P.M.  the  breeze  freshened,  the  boats  cast  off, 
and  followed  by  cheer  after  cheer,  we  ran  away  from 
Batavia.  I  believe  that  if  I  had  had  to  remain  in  this 
place  much  longer  I  should  have  had  to  mortgage  the 
ship  to  get  away.  Though  I  tried  to  be  moderate  in 
my  expenditures,  those  Ave  weeks  cost  me  nearly  a 
year's  income.    For  my  extravagance  I  plead  the  excuse 


238  FROxM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABm. 

of  youth.  I  wish  to  say  that  the  only  American  in  the 
liarbor  with  us  was  the  ship  Kensington.  The  gentle- 
man who  was  then  her  chief  officer  is  now  in  the  tug 
and  steamboat  business  in  I^ew  York,  and  all  know  Cap- 
tain Parks  as  a  true  salt. 

The  following  morning  we  gave  our  attention  to  the 
mizzen-mast.  We  fished  it  with  the  spanker-boom  and 
gaff,  and  a  spare  top -gallant  yard,  and  to  these  were 
added  preventer  back-stays.  This  kept  the  mast  in  po- 
sition for  the  rest  of  the  voyage ;  but  of  course  we  could 
not  carry  sail  on  it  in  heavy  weather. 

We  had  a  fine  run  until  we  were  witliin  two  hundred 
miles  of  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  Here  we  caught  a 
south-wester,  which  terminated  in  a  gale,  and  nearly  end- 
ed my  existence.  On  the  second  morning  of  the  gale  I 
was  standing  between  the  two  boats,  which  were  turned 
bottom  up,  their  fore-ends  supported  by  a  gallows,  their 
after-ends  on  the  house.  (The  ship  had  a  break-poop, 
with  a  house  in  the  centre.)  In  this  place  I  thought 
myself  safe  from  the  seas  which  occasionally  swept  our 
decks.  We  were  under  two  close-reefed  top-sails,  and 
as  my  hands  were  raised  to  my  mouth  to  give  the  order 
to  clew  up  the  fore-top  sail,  a  sea  struck  us  abaft  the 
starboard  main-rigging,  which  stove  in  our  bulwarks  and 
the  fore  part  of  the  house,  and  washed  the  two  boats, 
between  which  I  was  standing,  and  myself  overboard. 
I  managed  to  get  into  one  of  the  boats.  Fortunately  it 
was  a  life-boat,  and  floated  well  out.  My  south-wester, 
which  had  been  well  tied  under  my  chin,  I  used  as  a 
baler.  Not  for  a  moment  did  I  think  my  time  had 
come.    I  thought  though  of  the  agony  of  suspense  which 


A   NARROW   ESCAPE.  231 

I  knew  my  wife  was  suffering  during  the  six  long  hours 
that  I  was  in  the  water. 

The  mate  was  a  good   sailor,  and  handled  the  ship 
well,  but  he  missed  picking  me  up  by  wearing  ship  until 


BALING  OUT   THE   LIFE-BOAT. 


the  fourth  time,  when  he  fetched  me  by  heaving  to  lee- 
ward of  me.  As  my  boat  was  light,  and  well  out  of  the 
water,  she  drifted  faster  than  the  ship,  and  as  I  came 
under  her  stern  I  caught  a  bowline  which  had  been 
thrown  to  me.     To  slip  this  under  my  arms  was  the 


232     FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

work  of  a  moment,  when  I  was  hauled  on  board  with- 
out a  scratch.  This  was  a  narrow  escape.  There  was 
no  boat  left  on  the  ship  except  the  long-boat,  and  to  try 
to  launch  her  would  have  been  folly.  I  met  Captain 
Young,  of  the  ship  Otseonthe,  in  Liverpool,  in  1854, 
who  related  to  me  a  similar  experience  in  which  he  was 
the  actor. 


EFFECTS  OF  THE   GALE.  233 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Exchanging  Civilities  at  Sea. — I  get  Bass's  Ale  and  Cheese  and 
Madrid  Onions  from  an  English  Skipper,  and  he  gets  Good  Things 
from  me. — The  Fox  Family  at  Falmouth,  who  have  Furnished 
our  Consuls  there  since  the  Revolution. — My  Wife  and  I  in  Ham- 
burg during  the  Cholera  Epidemic  of  1849.— I  Sell  my  Ship,  the 
Manhattan. — The  Model  of  our  Centre-board  Yachts. — I  carry  a 
Dutch  Steamer  through  a  Storm.— The  Dutch  are  a  Sterling  and 
Charming  People. 

When  1  got  on  board  1  found  the  ship  leaking  badly. 
A  sea  had  struck  her  bowsprit  and  started  the  knight- 
heads  and  opened  the  wood  ends,  through  which  the 
sea  was  pouring.  We  hove -to  under  the  main  spen- 
cer, after  which  the  ship  rode  comparatively  easy. 
It  took  both  pumps  to  prevent  the  leak  from  gaining. 
During  the  night  the  gale  moderated,  and  gaining  on 
the  leak  as  the  sea  went  down,  we  gave  her  canvas 
again.  With  morning  the  ship  presented  a  very  bat- 
tered appearance.  Bulwarks,  stanchions,  and  rails  were 
partially  lost,  and  the  cabin  was  nearly  gutted  through, 
the  forepart  of  the  house  being  stove  in.  The  sea  that 
entered  nearly  drowned  my  wife  and  children  and  the 
stewardess.  But  all  this  was  forgotten  in  the  bright 
sunny  morning  which  followed  with  a  fair  leading 
breeze,  and  we.  were  once  more  happy  when  our  clothes 
were  dry.  Sailors  soon  forget  past  dangers,  and  only 
live  in  the  present. 


234  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

We  stopped  the  leak  as  much  as  possible,  the  most  of 
it  being  above  water.  We  worked  around  the  cape, 
entered  the  south-east  trades,  and  shaped  oar  course  for 
St.  Helena.  Here  we  anchored  close  in  shore,  letting 
go  both  anchors,  and  running  out  the  chains  to  the  bare 
ends,  to  lighten  our  bow  as  much  as  possible,  so  as  to 
get  at  the  leak.  Then  we  launched  our  spare  yards  as 
far  out  as  we  could  over  the  stern,  and  to  these  we 
hoisted  the  long-boat,  filled  with  water.  We  succeeded 
in  tipping  the  ship  enough  to  repair  the  damage  to  the 
wood  ends  and  to  stop  the  leak. 

In  thirty-six  hours  we  were  under  way  again,  with  a 
fresh  supply  of  water.  The  only  fresh  thing  to  be  had 
were  yams,  water -cress,  kohlrabi,  and  a  few  turtles. 
On  the  island  we  visited  the  grave  of  I^apoleon,  and 
ascended  Jacob's  Ladder. 

In  latitude  10°  north  we  fell  in  with  an  English  top- 
sail schooner  from  Lisbon,  bound  for  Rio  Janeiro,  load- 
ed with  wine,  potatoes,  cabbages,  and  onions.  She  was 
a  perfect  godsend  to  us,  as  we  had  not  tasted  such  lux- 
uries in  six  months.  As  the  captain  wanted  to  know 
the  longitude,  lie  hove -to  and  sent  a  boat  along-side 
with  some  vegetables,  in  return  for  which  we  gave  him 
some  gin  and  arrack.  When  their  boat  returned  to  us 
again  she  was  loaded  as  deep  as  she  could  float  with 
potatoes,  Spanish  onions,  a  keg  of  wine,  a  box  of  Bass's 
ale,  and  a  Chedder  cheese.  As  I  would  not  be  outdone 
in  civilities,  and  be  the  Englishman's  debtor,  I  sent  him 
in  return  a  pig,  a  Westphalia  ham,  two  Dutch  cheeses, 
imd  a  case  of  gin.  It  was  a  gala-day ;  the  monotony  of 
the  voyage  was  broken  by  a  grand  feast.     Reader,  if 


THE   YOUNG   MERMAID.  237 

you  like  bread  and  cheese  and  English  ale,  with  a  mel- 
low Spanish  onion,  and  have  been  deprived  of  them  for 
a  long  time,  you  can  imagine  our  enjoyment. 

The  north-east  trades  forced  us  well  to  the  westward, 
and  we  sighted  the  Azores.  Twenty-five  miles  south- 
east of  the  island  of  Pico,  at  4  a.m.  one  morning,  I  was 
made  the  happy  father  of  a  baby  girl.  A  ship-master  is 
called  upon  to  act  many  parts  in  the  drama  of  life,  and 
if  he  is  a  thorough  sailor  he  acts  well  in  every  emer- 
gency. The  first-class  ship -master  of  years  gone  by, 
when  America  claimed  supremacy  on  the  seas,  com- 
bined the  sailor,  sail  -  maker,  rigger,  carpenter,  painter, 
and,  in  fact,  cook,  doctor,  lawyer,  clergyman,  navigator, 
merchant,  and  banker.  This  education  fitted  him  to  do 
anything  except  enter  Wall  Street  profitably.  Tliough 
no  class  of  men  understood  human  nature  better,  yet  he 
was  the  most  gullible  and  easiest  swindled.  The  weath- 
er was  exceedingly  fine ;  the  sea  was  smooth  as  glass, 
with  light  airs  and  calms ;  the  only  squall  we  knew  was 
from  the  young  mermaid,  and  Jack  rejoiced  when  to 
each  watch  w^as  served  out  an  extra  allowance  of  grog, 
with  a  double-deck  sea-pie,  and  plum-duif  and  wine 
sauce,  for  dinner  that  day  in  her  honor. 

We  had  a  tedious  time  from  here  to  Falmouth,  where 
w^e  were  bound  for  orders.  There  were  no  despatches 
awaiting  me.  Sir  Arthur  Fox,  the  United  States  con- 
sul, had  been  informed  by  my  owners  that  I  might  be 
expected  two  months  hence.  I  at  once  notified  Mr. 
Pfeifer,  then  residing  in  Amsterdam,  that  I  had  arrived, 
and  sent  invoices  of  our  cargo.  Eight  days  afterwards 
I  received  his  congratulations  and  compliments  for  my 


238  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN. 

prompt  and  judicious  management.  Fortunately  I  had 
arrived  during  a  high  market  in  Hamburg,  whence  I 
was  ordered  to  proceed  without  delay. 

Our  time  was  delightfully  passed  in  Falmouth.  I 
accepted  the  hospitality  of  Sir  Arthur.  The  Fox  fami- 
ly had  long  been,  and  I  believe  still  are,  our  representa- 
tives. During  our  struggle  for  liberty  they  incurred 
aud  braved  the  displeasure  of  the  British  Government 
in  their  sympathy  for  the  cause  of  freedom,  and  they 
also  afforded  aid  and  shelter  to  distressed  Americans. 
When  peace  was  declared,  and  America  free,  Washing- 
ton appointed  the  grandfather  of  the  gentleman  just 
named  the  first  United  States  consul  at  Falmouth.  The 
Foxes  were  noted  for  their  charity  and  humanity.  Mr. 
Joshua,  the  brother  of  Sir  Arthur,  carried  his  humanity 
to  eccentricity.  Life  was  not  allowed  to  be  taken  on 
his  domain.  The  birds  there  were  strangers  to  the 
sound  of  a  gun.  At  a  whistle  they  would  alight  and 
flutter  around  him  to  be  fed.  To  show  how  tame  they 
were,  any  bird  that  my  wife  would  point  out  he  would 
call,  and  the  bird  would  take  crumbs  out  of  her  hand 
or  from  between  her  lips.  The  burrows  of  the  rabbits 
and  the  badgers,  and  the  holes  of  the  foxes,  were  never 
molested.  In  passing  through  the  grounds  the  deer 
as  well  as  the  lambs  would  cease  browsing  to  give  us 
a  look  of  welcome.  Gold  and  silver  pheasants,  and 
peacocks  and  doves,  all  mingled  as  one  family.  Inno- 
cence prevailed  here,  leading  the  mind  to  the  Script- 
ural Eden.  The  hunter  lost  his  prey  when,  wing-tired 
or  panting,  it  sought  refuge  in  this  happy  spot.  Wild 
flowers  with  the  cultivated  filled  the  air  with  fragrance, 


HAMBURG.  239 

and  transported  the  senses  to  dreamland.  At  the  end  of 
a  two  hours'  stroll  we  came  upon  what  appeared  to  be  a 
grotto  between  two  rocky  mounds,  overgrown  with  iv^y. 
The  rustic  walls  and  roofing  showed  the  exquisite  taste 
of  the  designer.  Mr.  Fox  leading  the  way,  we  entered, 
and  after  a  few  paces  were  surprised  to  find  ourselves 
in  an  old  mansion,  which  was  the  home  of  this  English 
Quaker  gentleman.  We  left  this  earthly  paradise  with 
regret.  The  happy  memory  of  it  will  always  remain 
with  us. 

We  made  good  use  of  our  time  in  Falmouth  in  hav- 
ing our  bulwarks  repaired,  and  by  the  time  we  arrived 
in  Hamburg  our  ship  was  painted  and  scraped  and  the 
rigging  was  tarred  down,  so  that  she  looked  as  only  an 
American  Indiaman — the  pride  of  a  sailor — can  look. 
Paint  and  putty  hid  the  decay  of  the  mizzen-mast,  and 
with  sails  unbent  and  top -gallant  and  royal -yards  on 
deck,  man-of-war  fashion,  I  felt  as  proud  of  my  ship  as 
I  did  of  my  wife.  All  sailors  do,  and  Jack's  wife  feels 
happy  in  believing  the  ship  to  be  her  only  rival. 

At  Hamburg  we  found  the  cholera  raging  in  its  most 
violent  form.  It  will  be  remembered  that  this  plague 
visited  the  north  of  Europe  in  1849.  In  this  beautiful 
and  prosperous  city  Death,  the  reaper,  used  his  merci- 
less scythe  alike  on  rich  and  poor,  old  and  young.  Busi- 
ness was  nearly  suspended.  Among  the  shipping  alone 
the  deaths  averaged  one  hundred  and  sixty  a  day  for 
over  a  week.  My  ship  was  lying  in  a  tier  with  two 
others.  I  had  paid  off  my  crew,  and  sent  them,  as  per 
agreement,  back  to  Holland.  I  and  my  family,  with 
cook  and  stewardess,  remained  on  board  in  preference 


240  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

to  taking  hotel  lodgings.  We  used  every  precaution 
known  to  sanitary  science  to  avoid  the  plague.  I  saw 
several  ship- masters  and  officers  leave  on  their  last  voy- 
age, poor  fellows !  without  time  to  send  a  good-by  to 
their  loved  ones  at  home.  Jack  has  one  grim  satisfac- 
tion in  expecting  to  be  cut  off  short  when  away  from 
home.  As  I  have  heard  many  a  sailor  say,  it  saves  the 
wear  and  tear  of  your  friends.  When  you  die  slowly 
at  home,  under  skilled  doctors  and  with  careful  nursing, 
the  agony  of  the  weeping  ones  around  your  bedside  is 
only  prolonged.  Besides,  I  would  rather  take  a  tussle 
with  ISTeptune,  and  float  till  the  trumpet  calls,  than  lie 
cramped  in  the  earth. 

One  night  I  believed  that  my  turn  had  come.  I  had 
all  the  symptoms  of  the  plague.  I  was  prepared  for 
the  emergency.  To  get  a  doctor  was  out  of  the  ques- 
tion. Hot  water  we  always  kept  ready  for  use,  and  I 
plunged  into  a  hot  mustard  bath,  from  which  I  emerged 
looking  like  a  boiled  lobster.  Then  I  took  a  mixture  of 
brandy,  cayenne-pepper,  laudanum,  and  Angostura  bit- 
ters, and  applied  a  turpentine  cloth  over  my  entire  ab- 
domen. To  this  heroic  treatment  I  owe  my  presence 
liere.  My  will  and  strength  and  remedies  were  too 
much  for  the  reaper  that  time,  but  I  must  say  we  had  a 
terrific  tussle. 

The  discharging  of  our  cargo  occupied  three  weeks. 
In  the  mean  time  I  received  instructions,  with  the  pow- 
er of  attorney,  from  my  owner  to  sell  the  ship.  He  set 
the  minimum  price  at  eight  thousand  dollars.  In  fact, 
lier  stern  frames  were  rotten  between  wind  and  water, 
fore  and  aft,  but  wdth  a  fresh  coat  of  paint  inside  and 


SALE  AND  TRANSFER  OF   MY  SHIP.  241 

out,  and  a  new  coat  of  whitewash  in  the  lower  hold,  she 
was  the  trimmest-looking  craft  in  the  harbor.  I  adver- 
tised her  for  sale,  freight  or  charter. 

Hamburg  and  Bremen  were  the  great  markets  for  the 
sale  of  American  ships,  as  they  built  none  themselves. 
Messrs.  Marps  &  Co.  were  the  largest  ship-owners  and 
brokers  in  the  place.  They  had  their  own  dry-docks 
and  repair  shops.  Mr.  Marps,  the  head  of  the  house,  an 
exceedingly  nice  old  gentleman,  responded  to  the  adver- 
tisement, and  came  on  board  to  see  me.  We  entered 
into  negotiations  for  the  sale  at  once.  My  price  was 
fixed  at  fourteen  thousand  dollars,  and  I  would  guaran- 
tee her  sound  for  that  figure.  He  offered  me  twelve 
thousand  dollars  on  the  guarantee,  which  I  declined. 
After  a  very  careful  examination  he  said  that  he  would 
call  again.  He  called  the  next  day.  He  said  that  he 
would  give  me  command  of  her  in  case  we  came  to 
terms — with  the  privilege  of  taking  my  family,  and  the 
same  pay  that  I  was  receiving.  After  a  few  days'  ne- 
gotiations he  finally  agreed  to  pay  eleven  thousand  dol- 
lars for  the  ship,  and  take  her  as  she  lay,  selling  me  out 
of  command,  as  he  could  get  a  captain  for  less  than  half 
the  pay  that  I  was  receiving.  Americans  in  those  days 
commanded  from  two  to  three  times  as  much  salary  as 
was  paid  on  foreign  ships.  The  transfer  was  made,  and 
I  received  a  certified  check.  I  declined  his  ofier  to 
give  me  a  draft  on  Amsterdam  in  favor  of  my  owner. 
Pleading  my  youth  and  inexperience  in  money  matters, 
I  preferred  cash,  and  as  I  was  going  to  Holland  on  the 
mail -steamer  I  could  take  it  with  me.  After  I  had 
turned  the  ship  over  to  him,  and  sent  my  family  and 
11 


242  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

traps  to  the  hotel,  I  went  to  the  bank  to  cash  the  check 
and  make  sure  of  the  money.  Mr.  Marps  called  and 
passed  the  evening,  and  invited  ns  to  dine  with  him  the 
next  day.  I  accepted  the  invitation,  as  I  had  three  days 
to  wait  for  the  packet.  No  allusion  w^hatever  had  been 
made  to  the  ship.  The  topics  of  the  evening  were  chief- 
ly the  voyage  I  had  just  completed,  and  the  general  ship- 
ping and  freighting  business.  The  following  morning 
Mr.  Marps  called  at  the  hotel,  and  asked  me  to  accompa- 
ny him  to  the  ship,  as  he  wished  me  to  see  her  opened. 
I  found  a  gang  of  men  stripping  some  of  her  whale 
streaks,  exposing  her  true  condition.  He  complained 
very  little  of  his  purchase,  but  felt  that  I  had  got  all 
the  ship  was  worth,  and  more.  I  said  truthfully  that  1 
did  not  think  her  so  soft.  "No,  nor  did  I  think  my- 
self so  soft,"  he  said, "  as  to  buy  her  without  boring ;" 
but  he  was  very  good-natured.  He  took  me  through 
his  ship-yard  and  counting-house,  and  I  passed  the  en- 
tire day  with  him.  After  a  sumptuous  dinner,  during 
which  he  gathered  the  history  of  my  life,  and  after  the 
ladies  had  retired,  we  came  to  business.  He  proposed 
to  make  me  a  member  of  his  firm,  saying,  that  as  the 
years  were  rapidly  passing,  and  his  worldly  goods  needed 
care,  he  was  looking  for  some  one  to  relieve  him  of  some 
of  his  laborious  duties.  He  paid  me  the  compliment  of 
calling  me  a  clever  Yankee,  and  just  such  a  one  as  would 
suit  him  as  a  business  partner.  He  said  he  was  satisfied 
that  I  knew  how  to  sell  as  well  as  how  to  sail  a  ship.  I 
thanked  him,  but  declined  his  offer.  The  romance  of 
the  sea  had  been  too  deeply  rooted  in  me  to  allow  me 
to  abandon  the  profession.     I  wanted  to  see  the  world 


AN  ANXIOUS  NIGHT.  243 

and  become  a  great  captain.  In  refusing  his  offer  1 
made  the  first  great  mistake  of  iny  life.  I  parted  from 
him  with  some  regret.  He  said  that  he  hoped  1  would 
change  my  mind  and  return  after  I  had  settled  with 
Mr.  Pfeifer. 

We  took  passage  on  the  steamer  Governor  Van  Eyhe. 
She  w^as  the  first  and  only  steamer  owned  by  the  Dutch 
at  that  time,  and  a  vast  improvement  on  their  old  galiot 
style  of  coasters.  She  was  built  in  England,  and  I  have 
never  been  on  board  such  a  rattle-trap  before  or  since. 
Four  persons  besides  myself  and  family  were  the  only 
passengers.  We  passed  out  of  tlie  Elbe  into  the  North 
Sea  just  after  sundown,  and  fully  expected  to  be  in  Am- 
sterdam the  next  day  ;  but  the  Fates  willed  it  otherwise. 
The  wind  was  blowing  fresh  from  the  northward,  with 
an  ugly  beam  sea.  The  ship  made  such  bad  weather  of 
it  that  I  turned  out  at  3  a.m.  I  found  it  was  blowing  a 
stiff  gale,  and  the  boat  heading  off  shore,  as  the  captain 
said  that  it  would  be  unsafe  to  run  for  the  Vlie  passage 
before  daylight.  When  the  day  broke,  the  gale  had  in- 
creased in  violence,  and  the  sea  was  very  rough.  We 
were  steering  north,  trying  to  crawl  off  shore.  The  isl- 
ands along  the  coast  of  Holland  are  low  and  sandy,  the 
shoals  extending  some  distance  and  making  a  norther  a 
dangerous  wind.  Rarely  is  a  vessel  saved  when  once 
stranded  in  the  breakers.  When  night  set  in  we  found 
that  we  had  been  struggling  all  day  with  scarcely  any 
perceptible  distance  gained  in  the  offing.  The  night 
was  a  very  anxious  one.  We  had  to  steam  at  full  speed 
to  hold  our  own.  She  took  sea  after  sea  over  the  bow, 
and  was  swept  fore  and  aft.     All  the  boats  were  either 


244  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

stove  in  or  washed  overboard.  Several  of  the  crew  were 
badly  injured.  The  captain  was  taken  sick,  and  had  to 
go  below.  Matters  assumed  an  ugly  appearance.  Every 
one  seemed  demoralized  when  the  morning  broke  with- 
out any  change  in  the  weather.  I  had  kept  no  run  of 
the  ship,  and  no  one  seemed  to  know  our  position.  A 
sea  struck  us,  carrying  away  the  bridge,  steering  gear, 
binnacle,  and  standard  compass. 

As  the  captain  was  laid  up,  he  asked  me  to  assume 
command,  which  I  gladly  did,  as  all  I  held  dear  to  me 
were  on  board.  The  chief  officer  was  no  navigator. 
The  engineer  was  in  constant  dread  of  the  engine  break- 
ing down,  for  the  ship  was  laboring  heavily  and  the 
coal  getting  short.  The  lead-line  indicated  eight  fath- 
oms of  water,  and  I  judged  we  were  on  one  of  the  nu- 
merous fishing  -  banks,  and  going  over  the  ground  at 
about  a  knot  an  hour.  I  deemed  it  advisable  to  take 
the  strain  off  the  ship,  as  she  w^as  now  leaking  badly,  and 
at  the  same  time  to  save  the  coal.  So  we  slowed  her 
down,  and  let  go  both  anchors,  paying  out  the  chains  to 
the  bare  ends.  This  relieved  her  very  much,  and,  steam- 
ing slowly  to  relieve  the  strain  on  the  chains,  we  rode 
comparatively  dry.  At  ten  o'clock  that  night  the  gale 
broke,  and  the  moon  showed  her  face  through  the  fleet- 
ing clouds.  At  11  P.M.  she  would  pass  the  meridian. 
The  patches  of  sky  began  to  grow  larger,  and  the  hori- 
zon became  sufficiently  defined  to  afford  me  a  good  ob- 
servation, which  placed  us  sixty  miles  north  of  Texel. 
The  captain  had  supposed  us  not  five  miles  off.  At 
1  A.M.  we  got  under  way,  and  steered  south.  At  3  a.m. 
an  observation  placed  Texel  entrance  south-south-east, 


THE   ZUYDER-ZEE.  245 

and  we  so  steered.  At  5.30  we  made  the  land,  and  at 
Y  A.M.  ancliored  in  Texel  roads  in  a  most  battered  con- 
dition.    We  had  been  given  up  as  lost. 

Many  boats  came  along-side,  as  a  steamer  was  a  great 
wonder  to  the  Dutchmen.  There  were  some  packages 
to  land  here.  While  we  were  at  breakfast  I  heard  a 
stampede  and  a  rush  for  the  side.  Running  on  deck,  I 
found  every  one  in  confusion  and  jumping  into  the 
boats,  yelling  that  the  boiler  was  going  to  explode.  Go- 
ing down  to  the  engine-room,  I  learned  that  the  water 
was  low  in  the  boilers,  and  the  feed-pipe  choked  with 
sea-weed,  the  strainer  having  been  broken.  At  once  I 
ordered  the  fires  drawn,  and  opened  the  safety  -  valve. 
Instead  of  doing  this  at  first,  the  second  engineer  had 
been  trying  to  feed  the  boiler.  The  chief  engineer  had 
gone  ashore  for  some  purpose,  leaving  him  in  charge. 
I  was  glad  enough  when  we  got  under  way ;  I  wanted 
to  get  out  of  a  ship  in  which  the  last  chapter  of  acci- 
dents came  near  blowing  us  into  space. 

The  day  was  fine,  and  the  run  up  the  Zuyder-Zee  was 
very  pleasant.  This  sheet  of  water  is  very  shoal,  and 
obliged  the  Dutch  to  produce  a  very  light-draught  type 
of  vessel,  the  galiot,  which  is  now,  however,  almost  ob- 
solete. The  galiot  was  flat  -  bottomed,  with  bow  and 
stern  nearly  square.  One  end  was  distinguished  from 
the  other  only  by  the  bowsprit.  She  had  no  rudder- 
port  wherein  a  leak  might  start ;  her  rudder  hung  out- 
side. She  had  a  great  shear,  was  an  excellent  sea  boat, 
and  off  the  wind  ran  well.  On  a  wind  she  used  her 
leeboards.  From  this  idea  sprang  our  centre  -  boards. 
These  vessels  (galiots)  were  the  strongest  boats  to  be 


246  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

found  in  any  nation.  They  thought  nothing  of  beach- 
ing tliem,  light  or  loaded,  if  caught  on  a  lee  shore. 
When  the  storm  was  over  they  launched  them  as  if  noth- 
ing had  occurred.  I  have  never  heard  of  one  going  to 
pieces,  except  she  knocked  her  head  against  a  rock,  and 
the  rock  would  have  to  be  granite  to  do  that.  The  last 
of  these  crafts  I  saw  in  our  waters  was  the  Fosha  Hele- 
na^ brig  rigged,  and  a  regular  packet  to  New  York.  She 
made  very  good  time. 

When  we  arrived  in  Amsterdam  all  Holland  was 
there  to  see  us.  The  news  had  spread  like  wildfire 
how  the  steamer  had  weathered  the  gale.  The  agent's 
son  had  been  one  of  our  passengers ;  from  him  were 
learned  the  perils  of  the  voyage.  I  was  made  quite  a 
lion  of  for  my  conduct  on  the  trip.  The  underwriters 
made  me  a  handsome  present.  Upon  the  whole,  I  be- 
gan to  foel  as  if  I  should  take  my  place  among  the  great 
captains  whose  portraits  decorate  the  walls  of  the  art 
galleries.  Mr.  Pfeifer,  who  was  a  stockholder  in  the 
steamboat  company,  was  desirous  for  me  to  take  a  com- 
mand. He  felt  much  interest  in  my  welfare,  as  he 
had  given  me  my  first  captaincy,  but  I  felt  that  the 
Dutch  were  too  slow  a  nation  for  me  to  become  one 
of  them. 

During  my  stay  of  four  weeks  among  these  people, 
however,  I  learned  to  love  them  very  much.  Tourists 
very  rarely  visited  this  interesting  country,  which  stands 
first  among  the  nations  for  thrift,  peace,  cleanliness,  and 
honesty.  A  contented  life  is  here  exemplified.  It 
was  difficult  to  move  them  out  of  the  beaten  track  of 
their  forefathers,  and   induce   them   to   patronize   the 


STERLING  QUALITIES  OF  THE   DUTCH.  247 

first  railroad  built  between  the  Hague  and  Amsterdam, 
a  perfectly  straight  line  over  a  dead-level  country. 
They  preferred  the  diligence,  or  even  the  canal-boat,  in 
which  they  would  be  safe. 

The  Dutch  are  not  a  demonstrative  people.  Their 
phlegmatic  disposition  and  quiet  reserve  do  not  attract 
the  fashionable  travelling  butterfly ;  hence  the  Nether- 
lands receive  few  encomiums  from  him.  Here  dress 
does  not  make  the  man  or  woman.  Adventurers  have 
little  chance  to  enter  society  by  palming  themselves  off 
as  lordlings.  It  has  its  doors  barred  until  the  proper 
credentials  warrant  their  being  thrown  open ;  then  a 
hospitality  is  displayed  which  makes  one  feel  at  home 
without  being  burdened  with  over  -  attention.  Hasty 
marriages  are  never  made ;  divorce  is  unknown.  There 
is  a  saying  here  that  "  the  wife  and  cat  never  leave  the 
house."  To  see  a  lady  and  gentleman  out  together  is 
to  know  of  their  engagement.  Society  is  never  shocked 
by  any  of  its  members. 

My  friend,  when  you  travel  see  Holland,  and  if  the 
Dutch  have  not  been  metamorphosed  since  I  was  there 
in  1852  you  will  appreciate  them  as  I  did,  and  feel  that 
your  time  has  been  profitably  passed  in  a  country  that 
was  rescued  by  the  industry  of  man  from  the  bottom  of 
the  sea. 

I  must  continue  my  voyage  —  as  I  fear  that  I  may 
have  tired  the  reader,  who  is  not  always  in  sympathy 
with  the  writer  —  and  take  my  passage  on  board  the 
packet-ship  Catharine,  with  Captain  Edwards,  for  New 
York.     Upon  my  arrival  with  letters  to  the  firm  of 


248  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

Messrs.  Scliucliardt  &  Gebhard,  I  was  appointed  to  take 
command  of  the  ship  AngeUque,  then  on  her  way  home 
from  San  Francisco,  to  resume  her  place  in  the  Amster- 
dam line.  During  the  interval  I  made  a  voyage  as  chief 
oflScer  of  the  Catharine. 


A  SERIOUS  ILLNESS.  249 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

I  come  into  the  Command  of  the  Dreadnought,  which  is  built  espe- 
cially for  me. — The  Summit  of  my  Ambition  is  reached  when  I 
become  Captain  of  this  "Wild  Boat  of  the  Atlantic." — We  beat 
Everything  that  Sails  and  a  good  deal  that  Steams. — The  Days 
when  the  American  Flag  made  Liverpool  Fine. — Osceola's  Daugh- 
ter makes  a  Voyage  with  us. — I  Regard  her  as  a  Sort  of  Jonah. — 
We  run  into  Field-ice  and  a  Ship  runs  into  us. — Osceola's  Daugh- 
ter takes  to  the  Boat. 

Upon"  the  return  of  the  ship  Angelique  from  Cali- 
fornia I  took  command  of  her.  This  post  I  held  for 
three  years,  running  her  as  a  packet  between  New  York 
and  Amsterdam.  Her  last  voyage  was  a  short  one  to 
Charleston  and  return,  when  she  was  sold. 

Now,  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  realized  what 
serious  illness  meant.  I  was  seized  with  hemorrhage  of 
the  liver,  caused  by  bilious  fever.  My  life  hung  in  the 
balance  for  several  days.  Hitherto,  out  of  respect  to 
my  pious  wife,  I  had  accompanied  her  to  church — not 
for  any  spiritual  benefit,  however,  as  I  regarded  the 
preacher  simply  as  a  man  leading  an  easy  life,  living  on 
the  fat  of  the  land,  and  preaching  destruction  to  those 
who  did  not  support  church  and  minister.  This  flip- 
pant idea  which  possessed  me,  as  it  does,  I  fear,  many 
men,  was  quickly  dispelled  by  the  intercourse  I  had 
with  the  Rev.  Dr.  Francis  Yinton.  To  his  eloquence 
I  owe  the  knowledge  that  God  did  not  create  man  after 
11* 


250  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

His  own  image  to  blot  him  out,  as  the  sun  does  the  dew- 
drop.  I  learned  that  there  w^as  something  more  to  live 
for  than  the  pleasures  of  this  life. 

I  recovered  my  health  rapidly.  A  party  of  merchants 
— the  late  Governor  E.  D.  Morgan,  Francis  B.  Cutting, 
David  Ogden,  and  others — subscribed  to  build  me  a  ship, 
the  construction  of  which  I  superintended  at  Newbury- 
port.  The  highest  pinnacle  of  my  ambition  was  reached 
when  I  entered  the  front  rank  o-f  my  profession  in  com- 
mand of  the  Dreadnought — for  *o  the  ship  was  named 
as  she  kissed  the  waters  of  the  Merrimac.  As  her  ex- 
traordinary career  as  the  champion  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean 
is  sufficiently  historic,  I  shall  only  dwell  briefly  upon 
some  events.  She  was  never  passed  in  anything  over  a 
four-knot  breeze.  She  was  wdiat  might  be  termed  a 
semi-clipper,  and  possessed  the  merit  of  being  able  to 
bear  driving  as  long  as  her  sails  and  spars  would  stand. 
By  the  sailors  she  was  nicknamed  the  "Wild  boat  of 
the  Atlantic,"  while  others  called  her  the  "  Flying  Dutch- 
man." Twice  she  carried  the  latest  news  to  Europe,  slip- 
ping in  between  the  steamers.  The  Collins,  Cunard, 
and  Inman  lines  were  the  only  ones  at  that  time.  There 
are  merchants  still  doing  business  in  New  York  who 
shipped  goods  by  us  which  we  guaranteed  to  deliver 
within  a  certain  time,  or  forfeit  freight  charges.  For 
this  guarantee  we  commanded  freight  rates  midway  be- 
tween those  of  the  steamers  and  those  of  the  sailing- 
packets. 

The  old  adage  that  "  misfortunes  never  come  singly  " 
was  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Ogden,  our  agent  and 
part  owner,  who  lost  six  first-class  ships  in  rapid  succes- 


IN   COMMAND   OF  THE    "DREADNOUGHT.  253 

sion,  leaving  the  Dreadnought  solitary  in  the  Ked  Cross 
Line.  The  first  sliip  lost  was  the  St.  George^  which  was 
burned  in  tlie  Chops  of  tlie  British  Channel.  The  sec- 
ond was  the  St.  Patrick^  wrecked  on  the  Jersey  coast — 
but  no  lives  lost.  The  third  was  the  Highflyer^  from 
San  Francisco,  bound  to  Shanghai.  She  was  never  heard 
from.  It  was  supposed  that  she  was  burned  by  Chinese 
pirates  off  Formosa,  and  that  they  murdered  her  crew. 
Our  Government  sent  a  vessel  of  war  to  the  island  to 
investigate  the  matter,  but  she  failed  to  discover  any 
trustworthy  data.  The  captain's  spy-glass  was  found, 
and  also  the  wreck  of  a  vessel  which  had  been  run 
ashore  and  burned.  The  fourth  vessel  lost  was  the 
Driver,  bound  to  ]^ew  York  from  Liverpool ;  the  crew 
and  six  hundred  emigrants  were  never  heard  from. 
The  fifth  was  the  Racer^  lost  on  Blackwater  Bank,  in 
the  Irish  Channel ;  no  lives  were  lost.  The  sixth  was 
the  Andrew  Forster^  lost  by  collision  in  the  Irish  Chan- 
nel ;  two  lives  were  lost. 

It  was  predicted  that  my  turn  would  be  next.  As 
my  family  was  getting  large,  I  thought  it  well  to  leave 
them  ashore.  My  wife  and  children  had  been  with  me 
almost  constantly  from  1848  until  1856. 

Our  ship  was  a  favorite  among  the  travelling  public. 
Her  cabin  accommodations  were  usually  secured  a  season 
in  advance.  On  our  first  voyage  outward  bound,  we 
crossed  Sandy  Hook  bar  with  the  then  crack  packet- 
ship  Washington^  Captain  Page.  We  landed  in  Liver- 
pool, and  took  in  a  cargo  and  two  hundred  emigrants, 
and  met  her  off  the  north-west  lightship  bound  in  as 
we  were  running  out.     On  our  way  home  we  crossed 


254  FROM   THE  FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

the  bar  the  day  after  the  steamer  Canada  sailed  for 
Boston,  and  when  the  news  of  her  arrival  reached  New 
York  we  were  reported  off  the  Highlands. 

The  extraordinary  good -luck  that  followed  us  for 
several  years  has  no  parallel.  M}^  success,  under  God's 
providence,  I  attributed  to  discipline,  and  to  forcing 
the  ship  at  night  as  well  as  during  the  day.  Night  is 
the  time  to  try  the  nerve  and  make  quick  passages. 
The  best  ship-masters  that  I  had  sailed  with  were  those 
w^ho  were  most  on  deck  after  dark,  and  relied  upon  no- 
body but  themselves  to  carry  canvas.  The  expert  sailor 
knows  exactly  how  long  his  sails  and  spars  will  stand 
the  strain,  the  lubber  does  not,  and  therefore  is  apt  to 
lose  both. 

When  I  first  started  in  this  ship,  I  turned  over  a  new 
leaf  in  my  log-book  of  life.  Swearing,  which  appeared 
to  me  so  essential  in  the  make-up  of  an  officer,  I  found 
degrading  in  the  gentleman,  and  I  prohibited  its  indul- 
gence. I  also  insisted  that  the  crew  should  be  justly 
treated  by  the  officers. 

The  first  night  out,  at  8  p.m.,  my  wife  sent  for  me, 
and  when  I  entered  the  cabin  I  found  her  seated  at  the 
table  with  the  passengers,  and  a  large  prayer-book  opened 
at  the  evening  service. 

"  As  you  did  not  hesitate,"  she  said,  "  to  acknowledge 
Christ  before  men  in  Grace  Church,  I  am  sure  you  will 
read  His  works  where  two  or  three  are  gathered  together." 

The  book  had  been  presented  to  me  by  Dr.  Yinton. 
From  it  I  read  the  beautiful  Episcopal  service.  At  the 
finish  tears  of  joy  trickled  down  my  wife's  cheeks,  while 
I  felt  myself  a  better  man.    For  the  ten  following  years, 


EFFICACY  OF   PRAYER.  255 

or  until  I  left  the  ship,  1  read  or  had  the  service  read 
daily,  inviting  all  to  join.  On  Sundays  the  services 
were  performed  on  deck,  when  the  weather  permitted, 
and  our  flags  were  set.  On  one  occasion  a  lady  asked 
my  wife, 

"  Why  are  the  flags  lioisted,  when  there  are  no  ships 
in  sight  to  see  them  ?" 

"  God  sees  them,"  my  wife  replied.  "  Flags  are 
hoisted  on  Sundays  ashore,  why  should  they  not  be  at 
sea?  We  feel  ourselves  nearer  to  Him  on  the  ocean,  as 
only  six  inches  of  planking  separate  us  from  eternity." 

I  began  to  feel  that  His  merciful  hand  was  my  guide, 
and  the  efiicacy  of  prayer  made  me  more  courageous 
and  less  reckless.  I  once  saw  His  finger  raise  the  dark 
veil  to  save  us  from  destruction  by  shipwreck  in  Cardi- 
gan Bay.  We  had  been  running  before  a  south-west 
gale,  and  making  the  best  use  of  it.  The  last  observa- 
tion we  had  taken  was  in  longitude  23°  20'^,  and  latitude 
51°  00^^  Our  anxious  time  began  when  the  discolored 
water  indicated  soundings  in  the  mouth  of  the  channel. 
The  weather  was  so  heavy  that  the  ship  could  only  stand 
double-reefed  fore  and  mizzen,  and  single-reefed  main- 
top sail,  with  reefed  maintop-gallant  sail,  a  whole  fore, 
and  single  -  reef  ed  main -sail.  At  9  a.m.  we  suddenly 
came  upon  a  large  ship  under  double-reefed  top -sails 
and  foresails,  running  the  same  way.  We  sounded,  and 
found  sixty  fathoms.  We  used  the  lead  frequently,  and 
because  we  did  this  the  stranger  kept  up  with  us,  as  she 
did  not  stop  to  sound.  Coming  in  from  the  southward, 
she  may  have  had  a  more  recent  observation  than  I,  and 
supposed  that  sh^  knew  the  exact  position,  and  that  / 


256  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN. 

did  not.  At  1  p.m.  we  again  sounded  in  sixtj-five  fath- 
oms, and  a  muddy  bottom.  Then  we  immediately  hauled 
up  from  east  one-half  south,  to  north-east,  for  St.  George's 
Channel.  The  last  we  saw  of  the  stranger  she  was  still 
holding  her  course.  At  3  p.m.  the  weather  cleared  for  a 
moment,  when  St.  David's  Head  (Wales)  loomed  up, 
close  on  our  starboard  bow.  I  remarked  to  our  chief 
officer,  who  was  standing  near  me,  that  if  our  companion 
of  the  morning  had  not  changed  his  course  he  w^ould 
run  ashore  back  of  the  Bishop's  Rocks.  This  prediction 
was  only  too  true.  We  learned,  the  day  after  our  arri- 
val in  Liverpool,  that  on  the  night  in  question  the  ship 
Grand  Duke,  Captain  Sampson,  from  I^ew  Orleans, 
bound  to  Liverpool  with  a  cargo  of  cotton,  was  lost 
with  all  hands,  except  two  men  who  were  saved  on  a 
bale. 

This  is  one  proof  that  the  use  of  the  lead  should  nev- 
er be  neglected,  however  sure  we  may  be  of  our  po- 
sition. I  was  a  noted  believer  in  the  use  of  the  "blue 
pigeon,"  as  the  sailors  call  the  deep-sea  lead. 

After  we  passed  St.  David's  Head  we  shaped  our  course 
so  as  to  pass  three  miles  off  Holyhead,  to  make  sure  of 
seeing  it.  We  were  running  fifteen  knots.  The  weather 
was  still  thick,  and  I  expected  to  see  Holyhead  light 
by  seven  o'clock,  if  it  cleared.  Up  to  this  time  our  pas- 
sage promised  to  be  the  quickest.  We  had  the  evening 
service  at  six  o'clock  instead  of  the  usual  hour  of  eight, 
so  that  I  could  be  on  deck  directly  after  the  reading.  I 
had  scarcely  closed  the  book  when  I  heard  the  cry  from 
the  lookout, 

"  Light  on  the  port  bow  !" 


A   QUICK   RUN  TO   LIVERPOOL.  257 

There  was  not  a  moment  to  be  lost  in  hauling  up  to 
clear  the  land.  God's  mercy  was  clearly  shown,  for  had 
not  the  thick  veil  lifted  to  let  me  catch  a  glimpse  of  the 
light,  the  Dreadnought  would  have  been  wrecked  in 
less  than  five  minutes. 

The  roaring  of  the  sea  lashing  the  rocks  to  leeward 
w^as  already  chanting  our  funeral  hymn.  My  passengers 
little  knew  of  our  narrow  escape,  but  enjoyed  the  scene, 
and  began  to  speculate  upon  the  time  we  should  arrive 
in  the  morning.  The  tide  had  been  flood,  and  stronger 
than  I  expected.  I  thought  that  I  had  made  sufficient 
allowance  for  the  indraught  into  tlie  bay,  but  I  had  not 
allowed  enough.  Man  is  fallible;  he  may  plan  most 
carefully,  and  still  may  err  in  judgment.  'Tis  a  true 
saying  that  "  there  is  nothing  sure  in  this  life  but  death." 

We  rounded  the  Skerries,  and  had  to  wait  until  morn- 
ing for  a  pilot ;  the  weather  was  too  bad  to  run  for  the 
bar  without  one.  We  arrived  just  too  late  to  cross  the 
bar,  and  were  detained  five  hours  by  the  tide.  Deduct- 
ing this,  together  with  the  seven  hours  we  waited  for 
the  pilot,  from  the  thirteen  days  and  eleven  hours  it 
took  us  to  run  from  port  to  port,  would  have  brought 
our  passage  within  thirteen  days.  We  afterwards  made 
a  passage  in  thirteen  days  and  eight  hours. 

We  arrived  on  Sunday  morning,  and  docked  in  our 
berth  in  the  Waterloo  Dock  in  time  to  attend  divine 
worship.  The  minister,  with  whom  I  was  acquainted, 
seeing  me  enter,  offered  thanks  for  our  safe  arrival. 

At  the  time  of  which  I  write,  the  American  flag  pre- 
dominated in  the  docks  of  Liverpool.  American  ship- 
ping furnished  the  city  with  food  supplies  and  wdth 


258  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

cotton  for  her  factories.  The  impetus  given  her  by 
American  industry  has  made  her  tlie  second,  if  not  the 
first  and  greatest,  seaport  in  the  world.  The  packet 
services  between  Europe  and  America  were  entirely 
performed  under  our  flag.  There  was  not  one  English 
line  of  packets  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Our  packet- 
ships  were  the  wonder  of  the  world,  and  so  were  our 
transient  ships.  We  had  the  confidence  of  the  travel- 
ling public  and  the  patronage  of  the  shipping  merchants. 
For  speed,  safety,  and  beauty  our  packets  surpassed  any 
ships  in  the  world  until  the  California  gold-fever  broke 
out.  Then  our  clipper-ships  took  precedence  in  speed. 
In  such  high  favor  were  our  vessels  held  that  Bremen 
and  Hamburg  drew  their  supply  from^us,  and  James 
Baines  &  Co.,  of  Liverpool,  contracted  with  Donald 
McKay,  of  Boston,  to  build  them  a  line  of  clippers  for 
the  Australian  trade. 

Alas!  what  has  become  of  our  ships?  and  why  is 
our  flag  so  rarely  seen  in  Liverpool  or  elsewhere  now  ? 
What  has  become  of  this  lost  industry?  and  why  is  this 
once  strong  arm  on  the  ocean  now  so  paralyzed  that  the 
weakest  nations  look  in  pity  at  our  fallen  greatness  ?  I 
do  not  propose  to  enter  into  a  discussion  of  political 
economy,  or  mourn  as  did  Niobe  at  the  loss  of  her  chil- 
dren. Niobe's  children  could  never  be  restored,  but  our 
shipping  can,  and  it  will  again  be  in  the  van  among  all 
the  nations. 

Our  Rebellion,  in  which  England  lent  aid  to  the 
South  with  money,  and  through  letting  loose  from  her 
ship -yards  Alahamas  to  destroy  our  shipping,  is  the 
prime  cause.     England  took  advantage  of  our  internal 


DECLINE   OF  AMERICAN  SHIPPING.  259 

strife  to  regain  lier  supremacy  on  the  sea,  which  in  a 
great  measure  we  had  wrested  from  her.  She  saw  the 
advantage,  and  took  it ;  and  will  retain  it  until  our  leg- 
islators rise  to  the  occasion,  and  give  aid  to  our  marine 
interests.  Why  should  we  not  have  the  same  protec- 
tion in  shipping  that  we  have  in  manufacturing?  Who 
but  the  foreign  interests  among  us  are  clamoring  for 
free -trade  in  shipping?  If  free -trade  had  existed  for 
the  last  twenty  years,  would  our  country  be  as  wealthy 
as  it  is,  and  would  our  national  debt  have  been  reduced 
to  a  minimum  without  distressing  our  people?  Would 
our  manufactures  and  the  -business  of  our  mines  have 
attained  to  such  gigantic  proportions  without  protec- 
tion, or  would  we  have  gridironed  this  country  with 
railroads  ? 

No.  It  is  not  the  export  of  corn  and  wheat  alone 
that  makes  us  rich.  The  farmer  says,  "Let  us  ship  by 
the  vessels  which  will  carry  our  products  for  the  least 
rates.''  He  forgets  that  all  he  pays  for  foreign  trans- 
portation is  a  dead  loss  to  his  country,  of  which  he  bears 
his  proportion.  It  is  not  the  lowest  price  paid  for  trans- 
portation that  is  always  the  cheapest.  It  is  to  be  hoped 
that  the  short-sighted  policy  in  letting  our  marine  inter- 
est languish  is  due  to  ignorance  on  the  subject  rather 
than  to  the  influence  of  lobbyists  who  are  stimulated 
by  foreign  gold.  We  have  Benedict  Arnolds  among  us 
now  as  in  the  time  of  the  Revolution.  It  is  they  who 
clamor  for  free  ships  in  the  interest  of  Europe. 

As  I  have  drifted  somewhat  out  of  my  course,  I  will 
let  go  the  anchor  and  get  on  board  the  Dreadnought 
again.     As  we  left  Sandy  Hook  in  the  middle  of  Feb- 


260  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

ruary,  before  a  strong  north-wester,  it  was  so  cold  that 
eight  of  our  men  were  badly  frost-bitten  the  first  night 
out.  We  were  driving  her  hard.  The  decks  and  rig- 
ging were  a  mass  of  ice.  We  were  making  the  northern 
passage,  to  be  sure  of  having  wind  enough.  In  seventy- 
two  hours  from  Sandy  Hook  we  had  sailed  a  thousand 
and  eighty  miles.  Had  the  wind  continued  we  would 
have  landed  our  passengers  in  Liverpool  under  nine 
days.  At  the  tea-table  I  was  congratulated  by  the  pas- 
sengers, who  were  in  high  glee  over  the  quick  time  we 
had  made  so  far.  Among  them  was  an  Indian  princess, 
a  daughter  of  Osceola — so  she  said — going  to  visit  the 
Queen  of  England,  whom  she  claimed  as  her  cousin.  I 
had  my  doubts  of  her  pure  Indian  lineage  from  the  size 
of  her  lips  and  kinky  hair,  but,  upon  the  whole,  she  waa 
not  bad-looking,  with  her  coffee-colored  skin,  and  lips 
and  cheeks  tinged  with  carmine.  She  wore  a  fantastic 
dress,  and  was  extremely  dignified  in  her  carriage.  She 
was  not  troubled  with  sea -sickness,  and  was  therefore 
able  to  devote  much  of  her  time  to  me  when  I  could 
listen  to  the  wonderful  tales  of  her  power  as  a  medicine- 
woman  and  a  seer.  She  would  sometimes  close  her  eyes 
and  see  the  spirit-land.  She  predicted  our  landing  in 
England  and  her  reception  at  Buckingham  Palace  after 
a  run  across  the  Atlantic  in  eight  days.  She  declared 
that  she  bore  a  charmed  life,  and  that  where  she  was 
dangers  were  warded  off.  While  in  the  cabin  listening 
to  one  of  her  pleasantest  fancies,  I  heard  the  lookout  cry, 
"  Breakers  ahead  !"  It  had  just  struck  eight  bells  in  the 
dog-watch.  The  ship  had  been  logged  fourteen  and  a. 
half  knots.     The  temperature  of  the  air  was  30°,  and  of 


A  DAUGHTER  OF  OSCEOLA  ON   BOARD.  261 

the  water  34°.  A  half  hour  previous  I  had  judged  tliat 
there  were  quantities  of  ice  to  the  north-west  of  us,  but 
I  did  not  expect  it  to  break  up  so  early.  The  reported 
breakers  I  knew  to  be  field-ice,  into  which  we  were  run- 
ning with  maddening  speed.  The  helm  was  put  hard 
aport  to  get  our  head  to  the  southward.  We  took  the 
ice  beam  on,  to  avoid  the  shock  of  running  head  into  it. 
We  were  well  into  the  field.  The  scene  was  grand  but 
fearful.  Below,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  one 
vast  sea  of  ice,  the  light  from  which  made  the  sky  seem 
of  inky  blackness.  1  deemed  it  advisable  to  work  the 
ship  out  rather  than  take  the  chance  of  having  her 
chafed  through.  The  weight  of  the  ice  kept  the  sea 
down,  with  the  exception  of  a  slight  undulating  motion. 
Forcing  the  ship  through  it  made  her  tremble  like  an 
aspen  leaf. 

The  princess  was  the  most  frightened  of  all  the  pas- 
sengers. She  had  clambered  into  one  of  the  quarter- 
boats,  and  she  remained  there  until  we  worked  out  of 
the  pack  at  about  3  a.m.  I  then  assisted  her  into  the 
cabin,  where  a  good  stiff  horn  of  "  fire-water "  was  ad- 
ministered to  the  poor  slaverer.  This  medicine  was 
so  grateful  to  her  that  she  believed  a  second  dose 
would  quite  restore  her,  and  it  did.  At  the  breakfast- 
table  the  princess  had  regained  all  her  composure  when 
I  asked, 

"  Why  did  you  not  let  me  know  that  you  had  fore- 
seen this  event,  in  order  that  I  miglit  have  taken  a  more 
southerly  course  and  avoided  the  danger?" 

"  Small  matters  I  do  not  notice,"  she  said.  "  Eeal 
dangers  I  can  avert." 


263  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN". 

"Do  you  think  we  may  expect  any  further  unpleas- 
antness?" 

"  ^N"©,"  she  replied. 

During  the  day  the  wind  hauled  around  to  the  east- 
ward, and  by  10  p.m.  we  were  standing  on  a  starboard 
tack  under  single  reefs,  heading  north-east.  I  went  be- 
low at  midnight  to  observe  the  barometer.  My  chief 
officer,  a  first-class  man,  had  the  deck.  I  heard  him  or- 
der the  helm  hard  up,  and  at  the  same  time  felt  the  ship 
careen  to  windward.  I  jumped  on  deck  and  found  a 
large  ship  running  down  on  us  before  the  wind.  A  col- 
lision was  inevitable.  She  had  no  light  set.  Her  look- 
out must  have  been  asleep,  as  our  lights  were  burning 
brightly.  We  would  have  crossed  her  bow  if  she  had 
kept  her  course,  but  when  they  finally  saw  us  coming 
they  became  confused,  and  instead  of  starboarding  they 
ported  her  helm.  Her  disregard  to  the  rule  of  the  road, 
that  "  the  ship  with  a  fair  wind  must  go  under  the  stern 
of  the  one  on  a  wind,"  brought  us  together.  Our  star- 
board bow  took  her  port  bow,  giving  her  a  glancing 
blow.  By  this  time  her  sails  were  aback,  and  we  were 
partly  becalmed  under  her  lee.  Our  head  had  paid  off 
enough  for  us  to  receive  a  second  blow  from  her.  Her 
stern  board  was  caused  by  her  yards  being  aback.  They 
became  so  confused  that  they  did  not  brace  them 
around.  The  crew  tried  to  jump  on  board  of  us,  saying 
that  they  were  sinking.  The  second  blow  took  us  aft  of 
the  mizzen-rigging,  as  we  both  came  down  into  the  hol- 
low of  the  sea.  We  knocked  a  hole  in  his  port  counter 
large  enough  to  drive  a  wagon  through.  We  parted 
again  on  the  rise  of  the  sea,  and  cleared  her.     He  dam- 


CONSTERNATION   OF  THE   PRINCESS.  263 

aged  us  by  sweeping  away  our  starboard  rail,  stanchions, 
part  of  the  covering-board  bumpkin,  and  quarter-chocks, 
also  our  mizzen-top-gallant  mast  and  everything  attached 
to  it.  In  answer  to  his  cries  to  lay  by  him,  as  he  was 
sinking,  we  at  once  shortened  canvas  and  hove-to,  to  re- 
pair damages  and  pick  up  his  cre\^.  We  kept  our  torch- 
es burning  to  show  our  position.  We  were  not  far  from 
each  other.  We  lost  sight  of  him  at  three  o'clock.  I  sup- 
posed that  he  had  sunk,  and  that  his  boats  would  board 
us.  We  lay-to  till  daylight,  but  saw  no  more  of  him. 
We  had  no  time  to  ask  the  name  of  his  ship,  nor  he 
ours. 

At  the  time  of  the  collision  the  princess  appeared 
upon  the  scene.  I  looked  upon  her  as  my  evil  genius. 
I  never  saw  a  more  terrified -looking  creature.  I  was 
too  busy  with  my  crew,  who  were  rather  demoralized, 
as  crews  sometimes  are  under  such  circumstances,  to  be 
very  courteous  in  my  replies  to  her.  She  was  ready  to 
leave  the  ship,  and  was  in  the  boat.  Her  fantastic  toilet 
had  been  forgotten,  and  she  wore  only  her  robe  du  nuit. 
She  had  a  pillow  under  each  arm.  (Afterwards  she 
told  me  that  she  considered  feathers  as  good  for  lif^-pre- 
servers  as  cork,  and  much  lighter.)  Nothing  could  in- 
duce her  to  get  out  of  the  boat  before  daylight.  I  had 
some  blankets  thrown  over  her  to  keep  her  from  freez- 
ing. There  was  very  little  prophesying  from  her  after 
this.  She  attributed  her  loss  of  power  to  the  ocean, 
where  the  red  man  never  treads.  She  said  she  would 
never  cross  the  sea  again.  I  informed  her  that  perhaps 
she  could  find  her  way  back  by  the  way  of  the  North 
Pole.     It  would  be  a  cool  trip,  but  the  chances  of  solid 


264  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

footing  were  better  there  than  along  the  usual  route. 
She  did  not  entirely  recover  her  composure  until  we  ar- 
rived in  the  Mersey. 

Our  ship  did  not  present  her  usual  trim  appearance. 
The  ice  had  ahnost  cut  through  her  planking,  her  stem 
showed  hard  usage,  and  her  starboard-quarter  presented 
a  very  dilapidated  appearance.  But  with  all  our  mis- 
haps the  passage  was  made  under  fifteen  days. 

About  two  or  three  voyages  after  this  I  picked  up  an 
old  Liverpool  paper,  and  in  it  I  read  that  the  ship  Eio- 
genie^  from  London  to  Quebec,  had  been  run  into  by  a 
large  Yankee  packet,  which  would  not  stop  to  see  what 
damage  had  been  done,  but  left  all  hands  to  sink  with 
the  ship,  as  it  was  supposed  she  would  from  the  hole  in 
her  stern.  I  was  so  indignant  at  this  false  version  of 
the  affair  that  I  was  going  to  sue  for  damages  and  ex- 
pose his  cowardice  in  running  away  from  us  before 
daylight,  for  fear  of  having  his  identity  discovered  and 
being  mulcted  in  costs.  When  he  found  that  his  damage 
was  above  the  water-line,  and  that  there  was  no  imme- 
diate danger  of  sinking,  he  squared  away,  without  even 
asking  if  we  needed  any  help. 

I  have  referred  before  to  the  demoralization  of  the 
crew.  The  Liverpool  packet  sailors  were  not  easily  de- 
moralized. They  were  the  toughest  class  of  men  in  all 
respects.  They  could  stand  the  worst  weather,  food, 
and  usage,  and  put  up  with  less  sleep,  more  rum,  and 
harder  knocks  than  any  other  sailors.  They  would  not 
sail  in  any  other  trade.  They  had  not  the  slightest  idea 
of  morality  or  honesty,  and  gratitude  was  not  in  them. 
The  dread  of  the  belaying-pin  or  heaver  kept  them  in 


TRICKS  OF  THE    "  PACKETARIANS."  265 

subjection.  I  tried  to  humanize  these  brutal  natures  as 
much  as  possible,  but  the  better  they  were  treated  the 
more  trouble  my  officers  had  with  them.  They  came 
on  board  the  ship,  winter  and  summer,  with  scarcely 
more  than  what  covered  them,  and  perhaps  an  empty 
bag  to  take  ashore  at  the  end  of  the  voyage  filled  with 
plunder  stolen  from  those  of  their  unfortunate  ship- 
mates who  were  on  a  packet-ship  for  the  first  time.  The 
unfortunate  ones  would  not  dare  tell  who  stole  their 
clothes,  even  if  they  knew.  Sometimes  I  would  notice 
these  hard  cases  getting  stouter  and  stouter  until  there 
was  not  an  article  of  clothing  left  in  the  forecastle. 
Then  I  would  call  all  hands  aft  and  make  them  strip  to 
their  under  -  clothing,  and  mix  the  clothes  in  a  heap. 
Then,  one  by  one,  those  who  had  been  robbed  were  al- 
lowed to  select  what  they  had  lost.  The  "packeta- 
rians"  came  last,  and  they  invariably  found  themselves 
reduced  to  the  same  toggery  in  which  they  boarded  the 
ship. 

I  was  outwitted  by  the  rascals  once,  and  could  not 
find  where  they  hid  the  plunder  until,  as  we  were  dock- 
ing, I  missed  two  of  them  from  the  capstan.  It  was  not 
quite  light  yet,  and  I  slipped  down  the  cabin  through 
the  steerage,  and  up  the  fore-hatch  on  the  port  side  for- 
ward. I  found  the  two  men  straddling  a  water-cask 
and  fishing  their  plunder  out  of  it.  It  was  a  queer  place 
to  hide  clothes,  in  the  water  we  drank.  I  had  had  a 
large  square  hole  cut  in  our  water -cask  instead  of  a 
bung-hole,  in  order  to  break  the  ice  as  it  formed  in  the 
casks  in  severely  cold  weather,  for  the  expansion  would 
have  otherwise  destroyed  them.  This  trick  was  never 
12 


266  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

tried  again  on  tlie  Dreadnought.  I  never  rejected  a 
crew,  or  a  part  of  one,  on  account  of  their  bad  character. 
I  generally  found  among  these  men  the  toughest  and 
best  sailors.  I  frequently  had  a  number  of  the  "  Bloody 
Forties,"  as  they  styled  themselves,  among  the  crew. 
These  rascals  could  never  be  brought  to  subjection  by 
moral  suasion. 


I  SHIP  A   CREW   OF  THE   '' BLOODY  FORTIES."      267 


CHAPTER   XX. 

The  Mutiny  on  the  Dreadnought.  —I  get  a  Crew  of  the  "Bloody 
Forties."  — They  have  Plotted  in  Liverpool  to  "do  for"  me  and 
take  my  Ship.  —  They  begin  with  Insolence. — I  Knock  one  of 
them  Down  and  Cause  him  to  be  put  in  Irons,  whereupon  the 
Mutiny  breaks  violently  out. 

It  fell  to  my  lot  to  ship  a  full  crew  of  these  pirates, 
as  there  happened  to  be  just  thirty  of  them  in  Liverpool 
at  the  same  time.  Xo  remonstrance  from  my  friends 
could  induce  me  to  change  my  mind. 

Justice  Mansfield  used  to  send  me  many  boys  in  whom 
he  thought  there  were  some  good  traits.  Instead  of  send- 
ing them  to  jail,  he  would  turn  them  over  to  me  to 
make  sailors  of,  and  bring  out  their  better  nature.  Some, 
I  am  happy  to  say,  grew  up  to  be  excellent  officers.  The 
justice  manifested  much  interest  when  he  heard  that 
thirty  of  the  *' Bloodies"  were  going  with  me.  It  was 
an  open  secret  that  I  was  to  be  dealt  with  after  a  fash- 
ion of  their  own.  The  magistrate  informed  me  through 
his  detectives  of  a  plot  that  had  been  agreed  upon  in 
Mrs.  Riley's  den  which  meant  trouble  for  me.  Some 
of  the  fellows  were  a  part  of  the  crew  on  board  the  Co- 
lumbia when  Captain  Bryer  was  murdered  on  the  voy- 
age homeward  the  winter  previous.  We  were  anchored 
in  the  river  ready  for  sea,  waiting  for  the  emigrant  offi- 
cers to  clear  the  ship,  when  Captain  Shomburg,  who 
came  on  board  to  give  me  my  clearance,  remarked, 


268  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

"  I  never  saw  such  a  set  of  pirates  in  my  life,  and  ad- 
vise you  not  to  take  them." 

"  Never  fear ;  I  will  draw  their  teeth,"  said  I.  Then, 
addressing  the  crew, 

"  Men,  you  know  the  rules  of  the  ship.  Pass  by  tlie 
carpenter  shop  and  have  the  ends  of  }/our  knives  broken." 

"  What  for  ?"  they  asked. 

"You  heard  the  order.     Obey  it." 

It  was  done,  but  not  with  very  good  grace,  as  the 
grumblings  around  the  shop  indicated.  The  grumblings 
drew  my  attention,  so  I  ordered, 

"  Lay  aft  here,  all  hands." 

They  came  in  a  sort  of  dogged,  insolent  manner. 

"Men,"  I  said,  "you  have  a  right  to  growl,  but  let  it 
be  in  the  forecastle,  not  in  the  hearing  of  myself  or  of- 
ficers. Obey  orders  promptly.  Don't  shamble  your 
feet  as  you  walk,  but  raise  them  and  move  quickly. 
W  hen  you  are  spoken  to,  answer  so  as  to  be  heard." 

"  Ay,  ay,  sir." 

"  1  noticed  you  coming  aft  just  now.  The  saucy  man- 
ner you  assumed  is  insulting,  and  some  of  you  know  it. 
Finnigan,  you  and  Casey  have  sailed  with  me  before, 
and  therefore  know  me.  I  know  you  to  be  the  ring- 
leaders of  the  Bloody  Forties,  thirty  of  whom  I  see  be- 
fore me  now.  I  know  that  you  have  banded  youi-selves 
together,  and  that  you  took  an  oath  in  Mrs.  Riley's  den 
to  clip  the  wings  of  the  bloody  old  Dreadnought,  and 
give  the  skipper  a  swim.  You  think  that  the  lid  of 
Davy  Jones's  locker  has  been  open  long  enough  for  me. 
You  intend  to  do  as  you  please,  and  have  your  own  way 
on  the  ship.     Now  you  see  that  I  know,  and  do  not  fear 


A   MUTINY   IMPENDING.  269 

you,  but  am  glad  to  have  such  men,  as  I  think  I  can 
teach  you  a  lesson  that  will  last  you  through  life.  Swee- 
ney, you  and  I  were  together  in  the  Mobile  jail.  What 
w^as  in  me  there  as  a  boy  is  now  fully  developed  in 
me  as  a  man,  but  divested  of  the  villanous  associations. 
Now,  men,  stand  where  you  are  while  the  officers  search 
you  for  hidden  weapons." 

Afterwards  the  officers  searched  the  forecastle. 

''According  to  your  behavior,"  I  concluded,  '^  you  shall 
have  watch  and  watch,  and  an  occasional  glass  of  grog. 
As  I  see  some  of  you  shivering  for  the  want  of  it,  you 
shall  have  one  now." 

After  they  had  finished  it  they  manned  the  windlass 
and  hove  up  the  anchor.  The  tug  took  us  as  far  as 
Point  Lynas.  There  was  a  moderate  breeze  from  the 
south-west,  and  we  stood  across  the  Channel  to  the  Irish 
shore,  then  tacked  again,  and  worked  down  the  Channel 
w^ith  a  steady  royal  breeze  from  the  westward.  The 
weather  was  clear. 

The  next  morning,  the  12th  of  July,  1859,  at  4  a.m., 
we  tacked  ship  to  the  northward.  We  were  then  close 
to  St.  David's  Head,  and  I  gave  the  order  to  put  the 
helm  down,  which  the  man  at  the  wheel  did  without  re- 
peating the  order.  The  next  order  was  "  hard  a-lee,"  at 
which  time  the  head  sheets  should  be  let  go.  As  this 
was  not  done  promptly,  it  nearly  caused  the  ship  to 
mis-stay.  The  next  order,  as  she  slowly  came  to,  was, 
"  Raise  tacks  and  sheets."  As  she  was  head  to  the  wind, 
swinging  around,  the  next  order  was,  "Maintop -sail 
haul."  Then,  "  Let  go  and  haul."  Then,  "  Haul  taut 
the  weather  main-brace." 


270  FROM   THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

I  tbeu  called  all  hands  aft,  and  the  men  who  were  slow 
in  letting  go  the  sheets  were  sharplj  reprimanded,  and 
the  man  at  the  wheel  who  failed  to  answer  when  spoken 
to  was  told  that  the  next  time  he  neglected  this  rule  of 
the  ship  he  would  be  punished. 

The  movements  of  the  men  plainly  showed  that  there 
was  trouble  brewing,  and  I  cautioned  the  officers  to  be 
very  prudent  in  the  management  of  the  crew. 

The  wind  backed  to  the  southward,  so  that  the  ship 
luffed  up  to  her  course  down  the  Channel.  At  noon,  off 
Queenstown,  while  the  crew  were  at  dinner,  I  was  walk- 
ing the  quarter-deck  watching  the  course,  and  noticing 
that  the  man  at  the  wheel  was  not  steering  steadily,  I 
said, 

"  Steer  steady !" 

He  made  no  reply. 

"Did  you  hear  me  speak  to  you,  sir?" 

"  I  am  steering  steady,"  he  answered,  in  a  sullen  man- 
ner. 

The  impertinent  tone  of  his  voice  caused  me  to  jump 
towards  him.  He  attempted  to  draw  his  sheath-knife. 
Seeing  my  danger,  I  struck  the  man,  knocking  him 
senseless  leeward  of  the  wheel.  Wallace,  my  dog,  then 
took  charge  of  him,  and  kept  his  fore  paws  on  his  chest. 
I  took  the  knife  from  him,  and  called  the  officers  to 
handcuft"  him.  He  was  then  put  in  the  after -house, 
and  locked  up. 

This  scene  was  enacted  so  quickly  that  the  crew  knew 
nothing  of  it,  except  what  they  heard  from  the  passen- 
gers immediately  after. 

The  second  mate  took  the  wheel  until  two  bells,  or 


BREAKING   OUT  OF  THE   MUTINY.  271 

one  o'clock.  Orders  were  given  to  "  Turn  to,  and  haul 
taut  the  weather  main-brace."  The  crew  came  aft  to 
the  quarter-deck  without  any  attempt  to  obey  the  order, 
which  was  repeated. 

"  Why  don't  you  obey  the  order  ?"  I  asked. 

"  We  want  Mike  let  out  of  irons,"  was  their  reply. 

"  From  this  time,  men,  you  shall  see  who  is  master. 
You  have  acted  so  insolently  that  I  see  no  kind  treat- 
ment on  my  part  will  deter  you  from  carrying  out  the 
compact  made  with  your  pals  in  Liverpool.  For  the 
remainder  of  the  voyage  I  shall  stop  your  watch  and 
watch,  and  treat  you  as  you  deserve.  Again  I  repeat. 
Haul  taut  the  weather  main-brace.  The  refusal  to  obey 
an  order  given  places  you  in  mutiny." 

^Not  a  man  moved.  It  was  a  very  exciting  time. 
The  emigrants  had  all  huddled  aft  as  far  as  the  main- 
mast— they  were  not  allowed  on  the  quarter-deck — to 
witness  what  would  happen.  I  felt  as  if  blood  would 
be  shed.  With  right  on  my  side  and  might  on  theirs 
the  contest  would  appear,  unequal. 

I  turned  to  go  into  the  cabin  to  arm  myself  when  the 
crew  ran  forward.  The  knife  which  had  been  taken 
away  from  the  man  at  the  wheel  had  been  repointed, 
which  led  me  to  believe  that  the  knives  of  the  rest  of 
the  crew  had  been  treated  in  the  same  manner,  and  that 
mischief  was  intended. 

When  I  came  out  of  the  cabin  I  had  on  a  raglan,  to 
conceal  rny  weapons.  I  ordered  the  emigrants  to  go 
below.  I  went  forward,  followed  by  my  faithful  dog, 
but  unaccompanied  by  the  officers.  They  were  of  no 
possible  use  except  one.     The  first  officer  was  an  old 


273  FKOM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

man,  the  second  a  coward,  the  third,  Mr.  Whitehorn, 
who  had  been  with  me  for  many  years,  and  was  as 
brave  as  a  lion  though  small  in  stature,  had  taken  the 
wheel,  as  the  man  had  deserted  it  to  join  his  ship- 
mates. 

I  reached  the  galley  door,  which  was  about  six  feet 
from  the  forward  end  of  the  house.  The  passage  which 
I  had  traversed  between  the  water-cask  and  the  rail  was 
less  than  five  feet  wide.  I  still  advanced  to  the  end  of 
the  house,  when,  with  a  yell  like  that  of  demons  let 
loose,  the  crew  rushed  at  me  with  their  knives. 

The  time  had  come  for  me  to  prove  to  these  men 
that  moral  courage  was  superior  to  brute  force.  With 
a  pistol  in  each  hand,  pointed  at  the  heads  of  those 
nearest  to  me,  and  a  cutlass  at  my  side,  I  stood  immov- 
able. The  screaming  of  the  women  and  children  below, 
blended  with  the  noise  on  deck,  beggars  all  description. 
Not  a  man  dared  to  come  nearer  than  about  twelve  feet 
from  me,  knowing  that  another  step  forward  would  seal 
his  doom.  My  pistol  practice  had  been  heard  of,  and  it 
was  well  known  that  with  either  hand  I  was  a  dead  shot. 
The  pistols  had  hair-triggers,  and  carried  each  an  ounce 
minie-ball.  During  a  momentary  lull,  when  I  could  be 
heard,  I  said, 

"  Men,  you  have  found  your  master." 

Finding  that  they  would  not  listen  to  what  I  had  to 
say  I  retreated.  With  a  yell  they  attempted  to  rush 
upon  me  as  I  was  about  to  turn.  Suddenly  wheeling 
again,  and  pointing  my  pistols  at  them,  and  with  a  voice 
that  could  be  heard  above  the  din,  I  said, 

"  The  first  man  that  advances  another  step  dies." 


AN   EXCITING  TIME   ON   BOARD.  273 

Then  backing  through  the  passage-way  as  far  as  the 
main-hatch,  I  turned  and  walked  aft. 

During  the  afternoon  the  passengers  came  to  me  and 
requested  me  to  go  into  Queenstown,  which  was  bear- 
ing north  about  eiglit  miles.  I  replied  that  the  ship 
was  bound  to  'New  York,  not  Queenstown,  and  that  they 
need  have  no  fear  of  their  lives. 

At  6  P.M.  I  went  forward  to  reason  with  the  men, 
but  it  was  of  no  use.  The  yells  and  the  language  they 
used  were  the  worst  I  have  ever  heard.  Finnigan 
bared  his  breast  and  dared  me  to  shoot,  calling  me  an 
outrageous  name.  For  a  moment  they  thought  Fin- 
nigan would  be  a  dead  man  when  I  raised  my  pistol  at 
him  point-blank,  with  hammer  uplifted.  Finnigan  re- 
ceded a  step  or  two,  and  a  deadly  silence  prevailed. 

"  You  cowardly  dog,  you  shall  bite  the  dust  for  this," 
I  said. 

At  the  same  time,  taking  advantage  of  the  momentary 
stillness,  I  called  upon  the  crew  to  return  to  their  duty. 
This  they  refused  to  do  unless  I  gave  them  watch  and 
watch. 

"  I  am  here  to  command,"  I  replied,  "  and  you  to  obey 
my  orders.  You  shall  neither  eat  nor  drink  until  you 
return  to  duty." 

This  was  met  with  yells  and  jeers.  "Let's  kill  the 
old  devil  now,"  they  cried. 

"  Stand  back,  you  cowardly  villains,"  I  said. 

"  Shoot !  shoot !  shoot !"  they  yelled. 

"I  would  if  I  feared  you.     The  law  gives  me  the 
right,  but  I  prefer  to  teach  you  a  lesson.     Perhaps  you 
will  come  to  your  senses  when  you  are  hungry." 
12* 


274  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN". 

"  Oil !  we  will  help  ourselves  when  we  d — n  please." 

"I  am  responsible  for  the  ship  and  all  on  board. 
Any  one  ^o  attempts  either  to  injure  or  rob  I  will 
look  upon  as  a  pirate  and  treat  him  as  such.  If  one  of 
you  attempts  to  come  abaft  the  main-mast  I  will  blow 
your  brains  out." 

This  was  met  with  a  brandishing  of  knives  and  a  vol- 
ley of  oaths.  Seeing  that  no  impression  could  be  made 
upon  them,  I  walked  aft. 

That  night  the  men,  fearing  that  the  forecastle  would 
be  battened  down  upon  them,  set  a  watch  of  four,  while 
the  others  turned  m.  At  midnight  we  passed  Cape 
Clear,  with  a  six -knot  breeze.  During  the  night  I 
walked  the  deck.  The  officers  relieved  one  another  at 
the  wheel  every  two  hours.  There  was  no  sleep  for  us 
aft  that  night. 

At  seven  bells  the  following  morning  I  went  forward 
again  to  reason  with  the  crew,  but  the  same  scene  was 
enacted  as  on  the  day  before.  At  noon  the  breeze 
freshened,  and  I  ordered,  in  a  voice  which  could  be 
heard  fore  and  aft, 

"  Take  in  the  royals." 

The  order  was  met  with, "  Go  to  h — !"  from  forward. 

The  sails  were  furled,  however,  by  the  officers  and 
boys.  The  wind  still  freshened,  and  we  headed  the  ship 
off  to  north-north-west.  By  midnight  the  ship  was  tear- 
ing through  the  water  at  the  rate  of  twelve  knots,  and 
seeing  a  heavy  squall  coming  down  upon  us,  we  lowered 
the  top-gallant  sails  to  the  caps.  The  sea  was  making 
rapidly,  and  the  ship  was  pitching  and  burying  her  fore- 
castle, filling  the  lee  gangway.      The  spray  from  the 


I  ADDRESS  THE   PASSENGERS.  275 

weather  bow  made  a  clear  breach  over  us.  I  never  car- 
ried sails  so  hard  in  my  life.  I  had  to  keep  the  top-sails 
set,  for  had  1  lowered  them  the  after-guard  would  have 
been  too  light  to  hoist  them  again. 

At  4  A.M.  the  wind  moderated,  and  at  8  a.m.  it  was 
nearly  calm.  We  then  set  the  top-gallant  sails  again. 
Afterwards  I  went  forward  to  see  what  could  be  done 
with  the  men ;  but  the  result  was  the  same  as  before, 
except  that  they  said  if  they  got  their  breakfast  they 
would  turn  to. 

"  You  shall  work  before  you  eat,"  I  answered. 

"  D — n  you !  then  we  will  help  ourselves  to  the  best 
grub  in  the  ship." 

At  11  A.M.  we  exchanged  signals  with  one  of  the  In- 
man  steamers,  bound  east.  At  noon  we  tacked  ship  to 
the  south-west,  and  I  went  forward  with  the  third  offi- 
cer to  work  tacks  and  sheets,  as  the  men  had  threatened 
to  throw  any  one  overboard  that  came  forward  on  the 
forecastle. 

During  the  day  several  of  the  passengers  came  aft  to 
ask  me  to  give  the  men  something  to  eat.  One  or  two 
of  the  roughest  went  so  far  as  to  say  that  if  the  request 
was  not  complied  with  they  would  supply  them  them- 
selves. 

"  I  am  sorry  to  see  that  you  sympathize  with  the  mu- 
tineers," I  said.  "If  they  conquer  me  they  will  scuttle 
the  ship,  after  having  committed  the  greatest  outrages 
on  those  whom  you  hold  most  dear ;  and  at  night,  while 
you  are  asleep,  the  hatches  will  be  battened  down  and 
the  ship  sunk,  while  they  will  take  to  the  boats,  expect- 
ing to  be  picked  up  by  a  passing  ship,  and  making  up 


2.16  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

sucli  stories  as  have  frequently  been  told — that  the  ship 
had  sprung  a  leak  and  sunk,  leaving  them  the  only  sur- 
vivors. The§^  men  know  now  that  according  to  marine 
laws  they  have  subjected  themselves  to  &ve  years  in 
State-prison,  and  a  fine  of  five  thousand  dollars.  This 
virtually  means  imprisonment  for  life.  You  see,  there- 
fore, that  these  men  intend  to  take  my  life  and  to  es- 
cape in  the  boats  rather  than  subject  themselves  to  such 
penalty.  I  mean  to  bring  them  to  subjection  through 
hunger,  and  I  forbid  you  to  give  them  food  or  aid  them 
in  any  way  in  their  mutinous  conduct.  If  you  disobey, 
you  are  subject  to  the  same  penalty  to  which  they  are 
liable.  The  sympathy  you  have  already  shown  them 
has  protracted  this  difficulty ;  let  me  see  no  more  of  it. 
I  have  now  warned  you." 

Except  upon  two  or  three,  my  remarks  made  a  very 
favorable  impression.     To  these  I  said, 

"Understand  me.  I  have  the  same  authority  over 
you  that  I  have  crver  my  crew,  and  if  I  see  a  possibility 
of  your  joining  them  I  will  put  you  in  irons." 

One  of  them  defied  me  to  do  so,  and  after  a  short  tus- 
sle Mr.  Whitehorn  and  I  succeeded  in  putting  the  irons 
on  him,  without  any  interference  from  the  rest  of  the 
passengers,  who  were  ordered  to  leave  the  decks  and  go 
below. 

As  the  sunset  was  clear,  with  a  nice  breeze  from  the 
north-west,  the  sea  smooth,  and  the  ship  running  eight 
knots  on  a  wind,  I  went  forward  again  to  talk  to  the 
men.  The  result  was  as  before.  They  demanded  watch 
and  watch,  and  I  refused  it.  However,  they  appeared 
in  a  better  frame  of  mind. 


MY  AUTHORITY   UPHELD.  277 

"!N^ow,  men,  hear  what  I  have  to  say.  To  all  those 
who  will  throw  their  knives  overboard  and  go  to  work 
I  will  forgive  this  mutinous  conduct,  except  Finnigan, 
Casey,  and  Sweeney." 

The  offer  was  received  with  yells  and  howls.  I  then 
went  aft,  and  the  crew  set  their  watch  as  before. 

Fifty-six  hours  had  passed  without  sleep  aft  or  food 
forward.  This  state  of  things  would  have  to  have  an 
ending  very  soon,  and  there  was  not  the  slightest  doubt 
in  my  mind  that  some  one  would  be  killed. 

At  8  P.M.  I  ordered  Mr.  Whitehorn  to  take  charge  of 
the  deck,  and  shoot  the  first  man  that  came  abaft  the 
main-mast. 

I  went  into  the  cabin,  and  passed  into  the  after-steer- 
age, where  the  Germans  were  partitioned  off  from  the 
other  passengers.  I  addressed  them  in  their  own  lan- 
guage. My  remarks  were  the  same  as  those  addressed 
to  the  other  passengers.  I  pointed  out  their  danger 
should  I  be  killed. 

"  Germans,"  I  said,  "  most  of  you  have  served  in  the 
army,  and  have  the  reputation  of  being  brave  men.  I 
therefore  call  upon  you  to  defend  your  wives  and  little 
ones,  and  join  me  in  quelling  tliis  mutiny." 

With  a  shout  they  said,  "  Order  us,  captain,  and  we 
will  obey." 

I  was  reinforced  by  seventeen  brave  fellows.  I  armed 
them  with  iron  bars  taken  from  the  cargo,  and  cut  in 
handy  lengths.  The  night  was  dark,  and  the  time  near 
midnight.  All  the  passengers  were  below.  A  death- 
like stillness  prevailed,  when  suddenly  a  low  growl  from 
Wallace  drew  our  attention  to  the  gangway  forward. 


278  FROM   THP:   FORECASTLE   TO  THE   CABIN. 

between  the  house  and  rail,  where  two  men  were  discov- 
ered crawling  aft,  close  under  the  rails.  I  fancied  that 
I  saw  their  knives  in  their  hands.  I  was  standing  at  the 
break  of  the  quarter-deck,  Mr.  Whitehorn  was  near  by. 

"  Shall  I  shoot  r  he  asked. 

*'  No,  there  are  only  two." 

*'  Shall  I  go  down  into  the  cabin  and  call  up  the  Ger- 
mans V 

"  ]^o,  not  now." 

I  waited  till  the  men  got  aft  as  far  as  the  capstan, 
which  was  about  twenty  feet  from  where  I  stood,  when 
I  said, 

"  Move  no  farther.  Stand  and  throw  up  your  arms, 
or  I  will  put  a  bullet  through  you." 

The  order  was  obeyed  instantly. 

"Now  walk  aft  and  let  me  see  who  you  are.  What 
do  you  want  ?" 

"  Captain,  you  said  you  would  forgive  any  one  who 
joined  yon.  We  are  married  men,  and  ask  your  for- 
giveness." 

"  All  right,"  I  answered.  "  Throw  your  knives  over- 
board. Now,  one  of  you  take  the  wheel,  but  mark  me, 
if  I  find  any  treachery  you  will  be  the  first  ones  to 
fall." 

They  were  then  searched  for  concealed  weapons,  but 
none  were  found. 

"  Men,  what  were  your  motives  for  joining  me  ?" 

"  We  all  took  an  oath  to  stand  by  one  another  and  kill 
you  if  you  came  forward  of  the  house  to-night ;  and  it 
you  did  not  come  forward  we  were  to  burst  in  the  gal- 
ley at  eight  bells  and  help  ourselves.    When  Dutch  Bill 


PREPARATIONS   FOR   QUELLING  THE   MUTINY.       379 

said, '  Boys,  we  liad  better  go  to  work,'  he  was  struck  on 
the  head  with  a  serving-mallet  by  Sweeney,  and  knocked 
senseless.  He  was  lying  in  that  condition  when  we  left 
him  to  take  our  watch  on  deck.  Joe  and  Tom,  who  are 
now  on  deck,  are  willing  to  come  aft  and  join  you  when 
we  call  them.  If  you  will  trust  us  four  with  arms,  we 
will  help  you  to  bring  the  rest  to  terms." 

One  of  these  men  was  sent  forward  to  tell  the  others 
to  take  no  notice  of  what  was  being  done,  and  not  to 
join  ns  just  yet,  but  go  below  as  usual,  and  if  asked 
what  had  become  of  the  other  two  men  in  their  watch, 
to  say  that  they  had  deserted  to  join  the  captain.  And 
at  the  same  time  they  were  told  that  when  I  came  for- 
ward in  the  morning  to  ask  the  men  to  go  to  work,  at 
the  proper  moment,  when  they  could  be  well  heard,  they 
were  to  say,  "  Well,  boys,  here  goes  my  knife,"  and  with 
that  to  throw  their  knives  overboard. 

"  I  will  attend  to  the  rest,"  I  said. 

At  five  bells  the  Germans  were  brought  out  of  the 
cabin.  The  pig-pen  was  placed  across  the  port  side  as  a 
barricade,  and  four  men  were  put  behind  it.  The  rest 
were  so  distributed  on  the  top  of  the  house  and  else- 
where as  to  prevent  the  crew  from  surrounding  me. 

The  ladders  leadino:  down  the  steerao^e  were  hauled 
up,  and  the  hatches  fastened  down,  to  guard  against  the 
steerage  passengers  joining  the  crew. 

At  daybreak  (seven  bells)  the  two  sailors  who  had 
the  watch  forward  were  to  be  relieved  by  four  others. 
Among  them  were  Casey  and  Sweeney.  I  had  learned 
from  the  two  men  who  had  jojnecl  us  aft  that  the  attack 


280  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

was  to  be  made  on  the  galley  and  store-room,  in  which 
many  of  the  provisions  were  kept. 

At  3.45  A.M.  Mr.  Whitehorn  and  I,  with  Wallace  in 
advance,  walked  forward  on  the  starboard  side,  prepared 
for  the  encounter.  When  abreast  of  the  galley,  not  see- 
ing any  of  the  men,  I  said, 

"  Go  ahead,  Wallace." 


MY   FAITHFUL   DOG  WARNS   ME.  281 


CHAPTER  XXL 

My  Faithful  Dog  warns  me.— He  Flies  at  the  Throat  of  one  Muti- 
neer, and  I  Level  my  Pistol  at  the  Head  of  Another.— No  Sleep 
Aft  and  no  Food  Forward, — Germans  to  the  Rescue.— I  order 
Knives  Overboard,  and  they  go  Dropping  into  the  Sea. — I  Knock 
the  Ringleader  into  the  Forecastle.— The  Mutiny  is  over,  and  the 
Men  go  to  Work  with  a  Will. — We  part  good  Friends. 

When  the  dog  reached  the  corner  of  the  lionse  a 
deep  growl  indicated  that  some  one  was  hidden  forward 
of  it.  Having  learned  that  Casey  and  Sweeney  were 
the  ones  to  make  the  attack,  I  proceeded  cautiously, 
with  pistol  in  hand,  to  the  edge  of  the  house,  when  they 
both  jumped  from  behind  it  towards  me,  with  arms  up- 
lifted and  knives  in  hand,  ready  to  strike. 

In  an  instant  I  levelled  my  pistol  at  Casey,  while  the 
dog  jumped  at  Sweeney's  throat.  Casey,  seeing  his  dan- 
ger, backed  to  the  forecastle  scuttle,  while  the  other  two 
men  yelled  down  the  forecastle. 

"Jump  up,  boys!  We've  got  liini !  Let's  murder 
him  now !" 

With  shouts  and  oaths  they  ruslied  on  deck,  deter- 
mined to  finish  their  w^ork.  They  had  planned  during 
the  niglit  that  some  w^ere  to  go  around,  while  others 
were  to  clamber  over  the  house  and  make  an  attack  on 
flank  and  rear.  In  this  movement  they  were  checked, 
however,  by  the  Germans,  who  arose  from  behind  their 
barricade  and  felled  the  ringleaders  w^ith  their  iron  bars. 


283  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

Seeing  themselves  defeated  and  me  reinforced,  they  re- 
treated to  the  starboard  side  forward,  where  I  held  tliem 
at  bay,  with  pistol  levelled  and  hammer  raised. 

"  Death  to  the  first  man  who  dares  advance  !  I  will 
give  you  one  moment  to  throw  your  knives  over- 
board." 

Finnigan  now  spoke  up. 

"  You  shall  be  the  first  to  go,  you  d — d  psalm-sing- 
ing  !" 

"Throw  your  knives  overboard  and  go  to  work." 

"  What  guarantee  shall  we  have,  captain,  if  we  throw 
our  knives  overboard,  that  you  will  not  shoot  usf '  asked 
one  of  the  men. 

"  If  I  do  not  fear  you  armed  with  knives,  I  certainly 
will  not  unarmed,  and  to  show  how  little  I  fear  you,  I 
will  give  my  pistols  into  the  custody  of  any  passen- 
ger you  name  as  soon  as  I  see  your  knives  thrown  over- 
board." 

"Will  you  give  us  watch  and  watch  again,  and  prom- 
ise not  to  prosecute  us  when  we  get  ashore  ?" 

"I  will  make  no  bargain  with  you.  Throw  your 
knives  overboard  and  go  to  work." 

"  Well,  boys,  it's  no  use,"  said  one  of  the  men.  "  He 
is  too  much  for  us.     Here  goes  mine." 

With  that  one  knife  after  the  other  went  spinning 
overboard  to  leeward  just  as  the  sun  w^as  rising.  A 
more  gratifying  sight  I  never  saw  than  those  gleaming- 
blades  dropping  into  the  ocean.  After  this  I  discharged 
my  pistols. 

"  Now,  men,  to  let  you  see  that  I  keep  faith  with  you, 
name  the  man  who  is  to  take  charge  of  these  pistols. 


SUBMISSION   OF  THE   CREW.  283 

Finnigan,  you  insulted  me  just  now,  calling  me  a  coward 
and  other  vile  names.  You  are  the  leader  of  this  gang 
and  the  bully  of  the  forecastle.  'Now  ask  my  pardon  at 
once.  I  never  take  an  insult  from  any  one  without  re- 
senting it,  and  certainly  not  from  a  brute  like  you." 

"  And  I  never  have  and  never  will  ask  pardon  of  any 
man,"  he  answered. 

The  spirit  of  the  muscular  Christian  seized  me  for  the 
time,  and  the  blow  I  dealt  him  sent  him  headlong  down 
the  forecastle,  in  front  of  which  he  had  been  standing. 

"  Stand  back,  men,"  I  said.  "  Whitehorn,  go  bring  that 
fellow  up." 

He  found  him  lying  at  the  foot  of  the  ladder,  uncon- 
scious. A  rope  was  tied  around  him,  and  he  was  hauled 
on  deck  and  placed  in  charge  of  the  doctor.  While 
Whitehorn  was  putting  the  rope  around  him,  he  found 
a  knife  concealed  under  his  shirt.  Upon  this  I  drew  my 
cutlass,  and  pointing  it  at  Casey  and  Sweeney,  ordered 
them  to  throw  up  their  arms,  which  they  did  instantly, 
asking  if  I  meant  to  kill  them  now. 

Mr.  Whitehorn  searched  them  at  my  request,  and 
found,  as  in  Finnigan's  case,  a  bowie-knife  on  each  :  one 
had  it  under  his  jumper,  and  the  other  had  it  in  his  boot. 
The  rest  were  searched,  but  nothing  was  found  upon 
them. 

"  Now,  men,  let  it  be  understood.  You  are  to  jump 
when  you  are  spoken  to,  and  instead  of  walking  you  are 
to  run  to  obey  the  orders  given.  I  will  treat  you  as  you 
deserve.  The  last  order  I  gave  you,  and  which  you  dis- 
obeyed, was, '  Haul  taut  the  weather  main-brace.'  I  now 
repeat  it, '  Haul  taut  the  weather  main-brace !' '' 


284  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

With  one  voice  thej  called,  "  Ay,  aj,  sir !"  and  ran 
to  obey.  From  the  way  they  hauled  on  that  brace,  I 
feared  they  would  spring  the  yard. 

"  Belay  there,  men  !"  1  sang  out ;  and  then,  "  Boy,  tell 
the  cook  to  get  the  men's  coffee  ready.  "Whitehorn,  turn 
the  men  to  holy-stoning  decks." 

By  this  time  Finnigan,  under  the  doctor's  care,  had  re- 
covered from  the  effects  of  the  rough  handling,  and  was 
sitting  aft  near  the  break  of  the  poop-deck,  where  he  had 
been  ordered  to  remain  until  I  came  aft.  When  again 
asked  if  he  would  apologize,  he  made  no  reply.  I  or- 
dered him  bucked,  and  put  into  the  sweat-box.  In  less 
than  half  an  hour  he  cried  out  for  mercy,  and  was  ready 
to  say  or  do  anything  to  be  let  out  of  Irons.  A  few 
minutes  afterwards  he  was  brought  unshackled  to  the 
quarter-deck,  where  all  hands  were  holy-stoning. 

"  Men,  listen  to  what  your  recent  leader  and  bully  has 
to  say.  He  would  have  led  you  to  murder  and  to  the 
gallows." 

^'  Captain,"  he  said,  "  I  have  had  enough.  To  say  this 
does  not  make  a  coward  of  a  man  when  he  has  found 
his  master." 

"  This  won't  do.  You  must  take  back  your  insulting 
language,"  I  replied. 

"  Well,  then,  captain,  whoever  calls  you  a  coward  is  a 
d— d  liar." 

"■  Leave  out  the  '  d — d.'  You  know  that  swearing  is 
prohibited,  and  if  there  is  to  be  any  I  claim  the  iirst 
privilege.     Xow  down  on  your  knees  and  holy-stone." 

*'Ay,  ay,  sn\" 

At  seven  bells  all  hands  were  ordered  to  breakfast. 


THE  SHIP  IN  WORKING  ORDER.  287 

At  eight  bells  they  turned  to  again.  The  order  was 
scarcely  given  when  the  men  were  on  deck,  scrubbing, 
stoning,  and  polishing  brasswork  with  such  a  will  that 
one  would  think  that  when  they  got  through  they  were 
to  have  forty-eight  hours'  leave  of  absence  on  shore  and 
a  month's  pay,  after  a  year's  cruise. 

The  day  was  lovely.  All  the  emigrants  were  ordered 
on  deck,  and  the  'tween-decks  thoroughly  cleaned  and 
fumigated.  At  noon  the  wind  backed  to  the  south-west. 
We  tacked  ship  to  the  northward,  and  the  way  they 
made  the  yards  fly  around  was  only  equalled  in  the  race 
we  had  with  the  clipper-ship  LigJdning  the  winter  pre- 
vious in  the  Channel.  The  men  were  put  through  a 
day's  work  that  would  make  up  for  lost  time.  One 
could  hardly  realize  that  a  few  hours  before  there  had 
been  such  a  serious  time  on  board.  I  insisted  that  the 
officers  should  treat  the  men  as  though  nothing  had 
happened.  At  seven  o'clock  (six  bells)  the  men  were 
called  aft. 

"  Men,''  I  said,  "  I  think  we  understand  each  other." 

^*  Please,  captain,  make  the  punishment  as  light  as  pos- 
sible," they  replied. 

The  ordinary  ship's  work  w^as  carried  on  for  the  rest 
of  the  voyage  without  any  watch  below,  and  a  smarter 
set  of  men  I  never  had.  My  heart  was  very  much 
softened  when  several  of  the  crew  attended  divine  wor- 
ship on  Sunday,  and  they  were  all  allowed  a  glass  of 
grog  before  dinner.  On  a  beautiful  August  morning 
the  Highland  lights  hove  in  sight  right  ahead  at  four 
bells,  and  at  the  same  time  we  took  a  pilot  on  board. 
At  daylight  all  hands  were  turned  to  after  they  had  had 


288  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

their  coffee,  which  was  always  served  out  at  this  time  in 
the  morning.  The  order  was  given  to  reeve  the  signal 
halyards  fore  and  aft,  which  was  instantly  obeyed,  al- 
though the  men  might  expect  that  the  signals  were  to  be 
set  for  assistance.  I  had  told  them  at  the  height  of  the 
mutiny  that  they  could  not  hope  to  escape  punishment, 
as  I  would  run  up  the  signals  for  the  Harriet  Lane  Kev- 
enue  cutter.  Signals  were  run  up,  but  not  such  ones  as 
the  men  had  expected.  All  hands  were  ordered  into 
the  forecastle,  where  I  joined  them  with  the  ship's  ar- 
ticles. I  told  them  that  I  had  come  to  say  a  few  words 
to  them.  I  then  reviewed  a  part  of  my  forecastle  life. 
I  told  them  how  I  had  been  as  they  were,  a  prey  to  the 
sharks  ashore — how  I  had  been  drugged,  bought,  sold, 
and  robbed.  I  begged  them  to  break  the  chains  that 
bound  them  to  the  depraved  life  they  were  leading,  and 
assert  the  manhood  God  had  given  them  for  a  better 
purpose  than  to  be  the  slaves  of  boarding-house  keepers 
and  crimps.  I  told  them  there  was  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  become  officers,  captains,  or  merchants,  and 
drew  a  picture  of  a  home  life  with  wives  and  children 
which  I  set  in  contrast  with  another  dark  picture  show- 
ing the  end  that  would  overtake  them  if  they  gave  way 
to  their  unbridled  passions.  "  And  now,"  I  said,  "  I  for- 
give you  as  freely  for  what  has  passed  as  I  hope  to  be 
forgiven  in  tlie  world  to  come.  I  beg  you  to  repent 
your  past  sins,  and  pray  to  God  to  give  you  a  new  life." 
I  ended  with  a  prayer  which  brought  tears  to  the  eyes 
of  most  of  these  hardened  men. 

"  I  leave  with  you,''  said  I,  "  the  ship's  articles  which 
you  have  signed,  or  had  signed  for  you.     On  the  back 


I  TENDER  SOME  ADVICE.  289 

of  these  are  the  marine  laws,  wherein  you  will  see  the 
penalty  you  have  subjected  yourselves  to.  I  have  one 
request  to  make,  which  is  that  you  will  not  leave  the 
ship  until  she  is  moored  to  the  dock  with  rigging  stopped 
up,  and  you  have  received  from  me  yourselves  what  lit- 
tle pay  there  is  due  you.  I  want  you  to  do  this  instead 
of  deserting  the  ship  in  the  usual  fashion,  and  allowing 
the  landlords  or  the  sailor  lawyers  to  collect  your  money. 
They  generally  cheat  you  out  of  most  of  it.  I  know 
you  will  do  this,  to  show  me  that  you  mean  to  lead  bet- 
ter lives,  and  by  so  doing  you  will  convince  me  that  my 
forbearance  has  taught  you  a  lesson  of  repentance.  If 
what  has  happened  has  been  the  means  of  converting 
all  or  any  of  you,  I  shall  feel  that  this  has  been  the  most 
fortunate  voyage  of  my  life."     I  then  went  aft. 

A  short  time  afterwards  Finnigan,  who  had  been  the 
ringleader,  brought  the  articles  to  me,  saying  that  he 
had  come  to  return  them  and,  in  behalf  of  the  crew,  to 
thank  me  for  my  forbearance.  He  had  the  most  to  be 
thankful  for,  he  said.  He  declared  that  they  would  do 
all  I  asked  them,  and  would  try  to  be  better  men. 

Abreast  of  the  light-ship  we  were  taken  in  tow  by 
the  tug.  We  furled  the  sails,  and  squared  everything 
man-of-war  fashion.  At  ten  o'clock  we  arrived  at  quar- 
antine, and  were  passed  by  the  doctor.  We  discharged 
our  passengers  in  barges,  to  be  taken  to  Castle  Garden. 
During  the  short  time  the  ship  was  detained  at  quaran- 
tine the  news  of  the  mutiny  had  spread  all  over  the  city 
like  wildfire,  and  by  the  time  we  were  moored  at  the 
dock  we  were  besieged  by  all  the  runners  and  sailor 
thieves  in  New  York,  expecting  to  see  a  row,  in  which 
13 


290  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

thej  were  quite  ready  to  take  a  hand.  These  villains 
had  no  love  for  me,  whom  they  considered  their  natural 
enemy,  standing  between  them  and  their  prey.  Much 
to  their  astonishment,  the  men,  instead  of  deserting  in 
the  usual  way  by  jumping  to  the  wharf  or  overboard, 
prevented  the  runners  from  coming  on  board.  It  would 
be  impossible  to  describe  the  taunts  and  jeers  of  these 
rascals  at  what  they  called  the  cowardice  of  the  crew  in 
not  daring  to  come  ashore  without  liberty.  They  sug- 
gested among  other  things  that  I  must  have  licked  the 
whole  lot  of  them.  No  attention  was  paid  to  these  jeers 
by  the  crew,  who  were  stowing  away  hawsers,  sweeping 
decks,  and  giving  the  brasswork  an  extra  polish.  I 
paid  the  men  off  in  the  cabin.  When  about  half  were 
paid,  the  Kangaroo^  of  the  Inman  line,  left  the  dock 
above  us  for  Liverpool.  Our  men  on  deck  called  to 
those  in  the  cabin  to  come  up  and  give  her  three  cheers. 
This  was  done  with  a  will,  and  her  crew  with  equal 
heartiness  returned  three  cheers  for  the  "  bully  Dread- 
nought^'* whereupon  our  men  gave  three  cheers  for  me. 
I  finished  paying  off  the  crew.  When  everything 
was  ship-shape  alow  and  aloft  the  men  took  their  seats 
on  the  spars,  evidently  waiting  for  something.  This 
being  reported  to  me,  I  went  on  deck  and  walked  to  the 
capstan,  where  the  men  surrounded  me,  with  their  hats 
in  their  hands,  each  urging  the  other  to  speak.  Under- 
standing that  they  wanted  to  make  a  speech,  I  said, 
"  I  think  1  know  what  you  wish  to  say.  Your  actions 
speak  plainer  than  words.  Let  me  say  that  1  would 
trust  any  of  you  hereafter  with  my  life.  I  never  had 
or  expect  to  have  a  better  set  of  sailors  with  me.     The 


THE   CREW   AND   I   PART  GOOD   FRIENDS.  291 

moral  lesson  wliicli  God  has  given  me  the  privilege  to 
teach  you  I  know  will  make  you  better  men.  When  I 
am  ready  to  go  to  sea  again,  if  any  of  you  want  to  ship 
I  shall  be  glad  to  take  you."  This  was  met  with  three 
rousinof  cheers  for  "the  wild  boat  of  the  Atlantic." 
They  expressed  their  willingness  to  sail  to  the  ends  of 
the  world,  or  to  h — 1,  with  me.  I  wished  them  good-by, 
and  expressed  the  hope  that  they  would  find  their  wives, 
children,  and  friends  as  well  as  they  could  wish  them  to 
be.    With  a  "God  bless  you,  captain,"  they  left  the  ship. 

Superintendent  Kennedy  with  a  posse  of  police  ar- 
rived on  the  scene  just  in  time  to  clear  the  docks  and 
ask  what  was  the  matter.  Mr.  Ogden,  the  ship's  agent, 
had  sent  him  word  that  the  crew,  aided  by  the  runners, 
had  attacked  the  officers  and  myself. 

"There  has  been  a  mistake,  Kennedy,"  I  said.  "As 
you  see,  the  crew  are  going  ashore  very  peaceably." 

"  What  about  the  mutiny  ?     Shall  I  arrest  the  men  f ' 

"No.  I  would  ship  them  to-morrow,  if  I  wanted  a 
crew." 

Poor  Jack  has  a  hard  enough  time  at  the  best  of  it. 
He  is  a  prey  to  plunderers  ashore,  and  the  sport  and 
plaything  of  the  wild  elements  of  the  deep,  and  lie  is 
at  the  mercy  of  officers  who  are  too  often  ready  to  exert 
to  a  tyrannous  extent  the  authority  they  possess.  It  is 
little  wonder  that  his  heart  should  be  warped  at  times 
until  it  seemed  to  be  almost  dead  in  his  bosom.  But 
let  us  remember  that  a  little  kindness  and  consideration, 
joined  with  firm  justice  on  the  part  of  his  superiors, 
will  often  melt  that  obdurate  nature,  and  make  that 
heart  full  and  warm  again. 


FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

A  Hurricane  in  the  "Devil's  Blow-hole." — We  are  boarded  by  an 
immense  Sea. — I  am  twice  knocked  Senseless,  and  my  Leg  is 
broken.— We  lose  our  Rudder,  and  are  obliged  to  make  for  Fayal. 
— My  Leg  finds  a  Doctor  after  fourteen  Days, but  is  not  made  sound 
for  many  Mouths. 

Three  years  after  the  mutiny  I  resolved  to  sliip  a 
colored  crew.  They  did  very  well  during  the  summer 
months,  but  in  cold,  stormy  weatlier  they  were  worth- 
less. It  was  difficult  to  keep  them  from  freezing.  They 
would  shrink  into  themselves  so  that  their  jackets  would 
have  to  be  opened  to  ascertain  if  they  contained  human 
beings.  I  was  sorry  for  the  poor  wretches,  but  in  order 
to  keep  their  blood  in  circulation,  and  to  prevent  them 
from  falling  asleep  and  freezing  while  on  duty,  it  was 
necessary  for  one  of  the  officers  to  trot  them  around  the 
decks  and  stimulate  them  by  a  piece  of  ratline  stuff. 
Each  man  was  supplied  with  a  piece,  to  urge  the  one 
ahead  of  him  to  a  sharper  run ;  the  officer  brought  up 
the  rear.  This  may  appear  to  be  cruel  treatment,  but 
it  is  not  so  cruel  as  it  would  have  been  to  let  them  freeze 
their  fingers  and  toes. 

February  I  consider  one  of  the  worst  months  for  the 
mariner  bound  to  the  westward.  It  was  my  misfortune 
to  be  cauo^ht  workiner  throuo^h  the  "Devil's  Blow-hole" 
in  this  season.  The  locality  received  its  name  by  the 
unanimous  consent  of  the  Atlantic  sailors.     The  storm 


A   HURRICANE   IN  THE   "  DEVIL'S   BLOW-HOLE."     293 

centre  of  this  place  is  about  in  latitude  45°,  and  longi- 
tude 45°.  We  were  reaching  to  the  north-west.  The 
weather  and  barometer  indicated  a  storm,  which  was 
also  foretold  by  a  heavy  sea  from  the  westward.  At 
noon  our  sails  were  reduced  to  double-reefs.  The  sun 
was  obscured,  and  the  screeching  of  the  wild  sea-fowls 
that  flitted  under  our  lee,  as  though  in  dread  of  the 
coming  tempest,  warned  me,  as  it  does  all  mariners,  to 
look  to  spars  and  sails.  The  packet-ships  carried  or 
dragged  the  latter  as  long  as  they  could  stand  it,  and 
never  took  them  in  until  the  storm  was  upon  them ; 
hence  the  extraordinary  time  these  vessels  made. 

At  4  P.M.  we  were  compelled  to  close-reef  the  top-sails 
and  furl  the  main-sail.  This  was  the  smallest  canvas  the 
Dreadnought  had  ever  been  brought  under.  As  I  had 
built  her  for  hard  usage,  and  to  make  a  reputation  for 
herself  and  me,  I  intended  that  she  should  do  her  duty 
or  that  we  both  should  sink.  I  had  never  hove  her  to, 
and  when  the  wind  would  let  us  lay  our  course  double- 
reefs  was  the  least  canvas  we  showed.  For  this  reason 
the  sailors  called  her  "  the  wild  boat  of  the  Atlantic." 
She  was  the  packet  of  fame,  immortalized  in  song  by 
the  poet  of  the  forecastle. 

The  gale  steadily  increased  in  fury.  The  night  was 
a  very  long  one.  I  was  wishing  for  daylight  to  put  her 
on  the  starboard  tack.  The  sea  was  too  heavy  to  at- 
tempt to  wear  her  in  the  darkness.  When  the  day 
dawned  all  hands  were  called  to  wear  ship  and  shorten 
sail.  The  mizzen-top  sail  was  furled,  after  an  hour's  work. 
The  hail,  rain,  and  spray  were  blinding.  Watching  an 
opportunity,  we  put  our  helm  up.     The  men  were  by 


294  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIX. 

the  braces.  The  clew-lashings  were  taken  off  the  fore- 
top  sail.  (The  clews  of  the  top-sail  w^ere  always  lashed 
to  the  lower  yards.)  With  the  helm  put  hard  up,  and 
main-yards  rounded  in,  her  head  fell  off  before  the  wind 
and  sea  without  accident. 

The  foresail  and  foretop  sail  were  ordered  clewed  up. 
This  evolution  was  slowly  executed,  and  as  the  ship 
was  now  flying  before  the  wind  and  sea  in  the  di- 
rection opposite  to  that  in  which  we  were  bound, 
1  sent  for  the  third  officer  to  watch  the  steering  of 
the  ship,  while  I  went  forward  to  see  the  sails  prop- 
erly handled.  After  the  foresail  was  furled,  and  wliile 
the  men  were  furling  the  top-sail,  1  ordered  the  chief 
officer  aft  with  the  boys  to  point  the  yards,  while  I 
slacked  away  the  weather  -  braces,  so  that  everything 
should  be  ready,  when  the  men  came  down  from  aloft, 
to  brace  up  the  main-yard,  and  heave  the  Dreadnought 
to  for  the  lirst  time.  The  violence  of  the  wind  may  be 
imagined  w^hen  I  say  that  it  required  my  whole  strength 
to  work  my  w^ay  along  the  pin-rail  aft  to  the  head-braces, 
which  I  slacked  away.  Up  to  this  time  the  ship  had 
been  well  steered,  and  went  along  dry,  but  suddenly  I 
felt  her  take  a  careen  to  port.  Looking  aft  I  saw  an 
immense  sea  coming  down  on  our  weather-quarter.  1 
knew  it  would  board  us  and  sweep  the  decks. 

I  motioned  to  the  men  at  the  wheel  to  put  the  helm 
up,  but  they  became  frightened  and  put  it  the  wrong 
way  before  the  officer  could  reach  it.  I  had  called  to 
the  boys  to  run  forward  and  save  themselves,  w^hile  I 
secured  myself  under  the  weather-rail,  holding  on  to  a 
couple  of  iron  belaying-pins,  and  straddling  the  spare 


DISABLED   DURING  THE   STORM.  295 

fore-yard.  I  thought  myself  safe.  I  felt  the  shock  to 
the  ship  as  the  sea  came  rushing  over  and  burying  her. 
I  was  swept  away  by  its  irresistible  force ;  as  the  tor- 
nado sweeps  the  prairie,  I  was  buried  under  water,  and 
felt  myself  being  washed  overboard.  My  arms  were 
extended,  and  my  hands  ready  to  clutch  what  might 
come  in  my  way.  My  presence  of  mind  did  not  for- 
sake me  until  my  head  came  in  violent  contact  with 
some  hard  substance.  The  blow  rendered  me  uncon- 
scious. When  my  senses  returned  I  found  myself  un- 
der water,  with  my  head  jammed  under  a  spar,  and  my 
body  swaying  to  and  fro  with  the  sea.  I  closed  my 
mouth  to  keep  from  drowning.  I  was  certain  that  I 
was  still  on  the  ship,  and  that  the  crew  would  soon  reach 
me.  I  could  hold  my  breath  no  longer,  and  felt  myself 
drowning,  when  a  lurch  of  the  ship  lessened  the  water 
where  I  lay,  and  allowed  the  spar  to  settle  on  its  bed 
with  sufficient  force  to  knock  me  again  senseless.  After 
regaining  consciousness,  I  found  myself  hanging  over 
the  lee-rail,  which  was  on  a-  level  with  the  sea.  My  head 
and  arms  were  hanging  outboard,  while  the  lower  part 
of  my  body  and  legs  were  in  the  water  inboard. 

The  cries  from  the  men,  women,  and  children,  who 
thought  the  ship  was  sinking,  were  heart-rending.  The 
sea,  in  the  trough  of  which  we  lay  with  maintop-  sail 
aback,  swept  over  us  as  it  does  over  a  half-tide  rock. 

Taking  in  the  situation,  I  looked  for  assistance ;  I  was 
too  much  exhausted  to  help  myself.  I  saw  no  one  near 
me.  The  sea  had  stove  in  the  hatches,  down  which  it 
was  pouring,  and  some  of  the  spars  had  broken  from 
their  lashings.    I  raised  my  body  on  the  rail,  to  prevent 


296  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

myself  from  being  crushed  by  the  floating  spars.  My 
left  leg  I  succeeded  in  raising,  but  the  right  one  was 
powerless ;  it  was  broken.  I  was  bleeding  from  a  scalp 
wound.  My  left  wrist  was  injured  and  useless,  and  I- 
was  so  exhausted  that  death  had  no  terror  for  me.  A 
lee  lurch  of  the  ship  once  more  brought  the  monkey- 
rail  on  a  level  with  the  sea,  when  I  let  go  my  hold  from 
sheer  w^eakness,  to  give  my  body  to  the  deep.  I  thought 
my  time  had  come.  My  whole  life  passed  before  me 
with  the  rapidity  of  a  lightning  flash,  and  I  saw  the  fin- 
ger of  the  Great  Creator  pointed  in  anger  at  my  mis- 
deeds. That  I  had  fallen  from  grace  I  was  aware.  I 
was  uttering,  as  I  thouglit,  my  last  prayer — "  Into  thy 
hands,  O  God,  I  commit  myself.  O  Clirist!  hear  and 
save  me,  before  I  am  swallowed  up  in  the  deep."  It 
might  be  called  the  passing  fancies  of  a  disordered  brain, 
or  the  rambling  of  one  who  dreams,  if  I  noted  here  just 
what  I  felt  and  saw  at  that  time ;  but  this  fact  was  ap- 
parent to  all  on  board,  that  after  my  prayers,  which  had 
been  heard,  a  weather-roll  saved  me  from  falling  over- 
board. In  the  midst  of  the  storm  there  was  a  lull.  The 
water  left  the  deck,  and  the  crew  carried  me  below. 
While  being  carried  aft,  I  ordered  some  one  to  take  the 
wheel,  which  had  been  deserted,  or  we  should  lose  the 
rudder. 

When  I  was  taken  into  the  cabin,  it  presented  a  sad 
appearance.  The  skyliglit  had  been  stove  in,  and  the 
water  had  poured  in  through  it  until  it  covered  the  floor 
a  foot  deep.  More  dead  than  alive,  I  was  laid  upon  a 
sofa  in  my  state-room.  My  clothes  were  stripped  off, 
and  when  my  right  boot  and  trousers  had  been  split 


PREPARING  FOR  A  SURGICAL  OPERATION.  297 

down,  my  leg  below  tlie  knee  revealed  a  compound 
oblique  fracture,  with  tlie  skin  broken  on  tlie  inner  side. 
There  was  no  doubt  that  the  femoral  artery  was  punct- 
ured ;  it  was  apparent  from  the  bright  scarlet  color  of 
the  blood,  which  I  was  losing  very  fast.  With  my  re- 
maining strength  I  ordered  a  tourniquet  applied  till  I 
could  recover  myself,  which  I  did  after  a  few  minutes, 
aided  by  a  stimulant.  I  felt  that  the  hand  of  God  which 
had  snatched  me  from  the  deep  would  not  be  withdrawn 
from  me  now.  We  had  no  physician  on  board  this  voy- 
age, and  no  one  who  knew  how  to  set  a  leg.  I  therefore 
undertook  the  task  myself,  aided  by  my  purser  and  a 
couple  of  men.  After  a  fruitless  attempt  we  abandoned 
the  idea  of  setting  it.  Our  ignorance  on  the  subject  was 
not  enlightened  by  any  rules  laid  down  for  such  contin- 
gencies in  the  medical  books  that  usually  accompany  the 
ship's  medicine-chest.  We  tried  to  force  the  bones  into 
place  while  the  leg  was  extended ;  we  did  not  know  that 
bending  the  knee  would  have  relaxed  the  muscles,  so 
that  the  strength  of  a  child  would  have  sufficed  to  do 
what  was  required.  After  an  ineffectual  attempt  by 
three  strong  men  to  pull  the  limb  into  place,  I  became 
so  exhausted  that  they  desisted.  I  asked  to  have  the 
compress  applied,  to  give  me  time  to  collect  myself; 
then  I  decided  upon  amputation.  Life  was  ebbing 
fast,  and  now  was  the  time  to  act  before  I  became  too 
weak.  I  had  the  tourniquet  twisted  tight,  and  the  knife 
laid  ready  for  use.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to  perform 
the  operation,  as  no  one  else  would  undertake  it.  I  gave 
instructions  for  the  taking  up  of  the  arteries,  in  case  I 
became  too  weak  to  attend  to  them.  Everything  de- 
13* 


298  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

pended  upon  nerve.  I  felt  tliat  it  was  better  to  die  in 
making  the  attempt  than  to  die  without  making  it. 

At  this  juncture  the  second  officer,  in  whom  I  had 
mucli  confidence,  came  below,  and  said  that,  as  he  had 
had  some  hospital  practice,  he  could  bandage  the  limb 
to  stop  the  bleeding.  He  begged  me  not  to  amputate 
it.  He  said  he  had  fallen  from  the  maintop-gallant  yard 
of  tlie  ship  Benjamin  Adams  and  broken  both  legs, 
which  he  showed  me  were  as  crooked  as  ram's  horns. 
He  said  that  we  were  in  the  track  of  the  steamers,  which 
always  carried  surgeons,  and  might  fall  in  with  one  at 
any  time.  The  weather  was  moderating,  and  we  might 
soon  have  a  chance  to  get  the  leg  properly  set.  I  took 
his  advice,  and  was  made  as  comfortable  as  wet  bedding 
would  allow.  Everything  was  saturated  with  sea-water. 
My  leg  was  laid  in  a  Y-shaped  box,  while  I  was  wedged 
on  the  sofa,  to  keep  from  rolling. 

My  worst  fears  were  now  realized.  We  lost  our  rud- 
der, and  were  left  to  the  mercy  of  the  waves  without 
the  power  to  guide  ourselves.  Night  set  in  without 
our  meeting  any  vessels.  The  wind  and  sea  moder- 
ated, and  finally  became  calm.  The  ship,  which  liad 
Oeen  heading  southward,  was  turned  to  north  by  the 
motion  of  the  sea.  The  morning  sun  rose  with  a  light 
breeze  from  the  west.  I  sent  for  the  carpenter.  I 
did  not  know  that  he  had  been  killed  by  the  sea  the 
day  previous.  His  death  had  been  purposely  concealed 
from  me.  I  wished  to  instruct  him  how  to  fit  a  jury- 
rudder.  His  loss  at  this  juncture  was  doubly  great.  I 
gave  the  instructions  to  others,  and  at  the  same  time 
gave  orders  to  get  the  ship  on  the  southward  tack  for 


ATTEMPT  TO   RIG  A  JURY-RUDDER.  299 

Fayal,  for  which  place  the  wind  was  a  leading  one, 
and  the  distance  being  about  three  hundred  and  sixty 
miles. 

Every  attempt  to  turn  the  sliip  by  the  use  of  drags 
ended  in  failure.  My  inability  to  be  on  deck  worried 
me  so  that  inflammation  showed  itself  in  my  leg.  An- 
otlier  day  passed  and  we  did  not  see  a  sail.  At  mid- 
night the  jury-rudder  was  ready  to  be  shipped.  Tackles 
were  hooked  on  to  its  head  and  heel  from  the  fore  and 
main  yards,  the  chief  mate  attending  to  the  after  end, 
and  the  second  officer  to  the  fore.  It  had  scarcely  been 
hoisted  over  the  rail  when  the  straps  parted  and  the  whole 
apparatus  dropped  overboard  and  was  lost.  This  nearly 
drove  me  frantic.  Four  days  passed.  Sleep  was  a 
stranger  to  me ;  narcotics  seemed  to  excite  instead  of 
quieting  me.  My  diet  was  tea  and  toast,  instead  of  the 
nourishing  food  which  I  should  have  taken  to  sustain 
me.  My  leg  was  kept  cool  by  constant  applications  of 
cold  cloths.  I  had  excellent  nursing  from  the  steward- 
ess, and  from  the  purser.  The  latter  had  been  with  me 
on  several  voyages,  and  I  had  taught  him  some  naviga- 
tion. He  could  mark  the  ship's  position,  and  bring  it 
to  me  for  verification. 

On  the  fifth  morning  a  French  ship  hove  in  sight, 
bound  east.  She  answered  our  signals  of  distress  by 
sending  her  boat  along-side  with  the  chief  officer.  They 
had  no  doctor  on  board.  I  could  not  prevail  upon  him 
to  undertake  to  tow  us  in,  nor  could  he  induce  me  to 
leave  the  ship,  although  he  expected  to  be  in  Bordeaux 
in  four  days.  He  kindly  agreed  to  take  a  hawser  from 
ns,  and  turn  our  ship's  head  to  the  southward,  when, 


300  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABl>r. 

with  sails  properly  trimmed,  we  could  make  towards 
Fayal  while  building  a  second  rudder. 

From  nine  o'clock  in  the  morning  until  three  in  the 
afternoon  we  undertook  to  run  him  a  line,  but  in  vain. 
There  is  no  doubt  that  this  was  bad  seamanship,  for  at 
times  the  Frenchman  would  pass  so  close  to  our  jib- 
boom  that  a  man  could  have  jumped  on  board.  I  sent 
for  the  second  mate  and  our  herculean  boatswain,  and 
ordered  the  former  to  take  charge  of  the  ship,  and  the 
latter  to  support  him.  I  had  no  confidence  in  my  first 
ofiicer.  My  whole  trouble  I  believed  had  been  caused 
by  his  incompetency.  It  had  occurred  through  his  fail- 
ure to  have  the  sails  properly  handled,  which  made  it 
necessary  for  me  to  leave  the  quarter-deck.  The  boat- 
swain went  into  the  boat  with  a  fresh  crew  and  reached 
the  French  ship  while  the  second  mate  paid  out  the 
line,  to  which  a  hawser  was  attached.  The  Frenchman 
at  once  hauled  in,  when  by  some  chance  the  hawser 
kinked,  and  the  line  parted. 

The  excitement  of  the  day  was  almost  too  much  for 
me.  Night  was  closing  in  fast.  The  Frenchman  sent 
his  boat  along-side  with  his  compliments,  and  said  that 
he  regretted  to  leave  me,  but  could  waste  no  more  time. 
He  urged  me  once  more  to  go  on  board  his  ship.  I 
wrote  letters  home,  and  to  our  agents  in  New  York  and 
Liverpool.  To  the  latter  1  sent  for  Mr.  Bursley,  who  I 
knew  was  due  at  Liverpool.  I  gave  the  letters  to  the 
Frenchman  to  post.  After  thanking  him  we  parted,  he 
with  the  happy  thought  that  he  would  soon  reach  home 
and  expectant  ones,  while  I  suffered  the  torments  of 
hell.      Inflammation  had  attacked    my  leg,  I  believe, 


ARRIVAL  AT  FAYAL.  301 

through  my  sheer  worry  at  finding  myself  so  utterly 
helpless.  But  my  suffering  was  my  second  thought; 
my  first  was  how  to  get  the  ship  into  Fayal. 

The  wind  was  still  fresh  from  the  westward,  with  a 
smooth  sea.  Another  jury -rudder  had  been  begun. 
During  the  first  watch  I  decided  to  back  her  towards 
the  island  until  the  rudder  was  built.  I  sent  for  the 
second  officer,  who  had  charge  of  the  deck,  to  instruct 
him  to  back  the  yards,  trim  and  furl  such  head-sails  as 
the  occasion  required,  and  give  her  a  steady  sternboard. 
This  was  successful,  and  we  backed  on  a  southerly  course 
at  the  average  of  three  and  a  half  knots  an  hour,  for  by 
observation  we  found  that  we  had  made  one  hundred 
and  eighty- three  miles  in  fifty- two  hours.  Then  the 
wind  died  away,  and  the  sea  became  smooth,  giving  us 
an  excellent  opportunity  to  ship  the  rudder,  which  was 
successfully  done.  Again  a  light  wind  favored  us  from 
the  westward,  and  continued  until  we  arrived  at  the 
island  on  the  evening  of  the  fourteenth  day  after  the 
accident. 

I  was  more  dead  than  alive.  My  leg  was  in  a  shock- 
ing condition,  my  body  w^as  covered  with  bed  sores,  and 
my  face  was  shrunken  almost  beyond  recognition.  As 
soon  as  we  anchored  in  the  roadstead,  Mr.  Samuel  Dab- 
ney  came  along-side,  with  the  assuring  words,  which  I 
could  hear  through  my  open  side-light,  that  the  quaran- 
tine laws  forbade  boarding  after  sundown,  but  that  he 
would  come  on  board  in  the  morning  with  a  doctor  and 
take  me  ashore.  It  seemed  to  me,  I  think,  the  longest 
night  since  the  accident.  My  strength  was  entirely 
gone.     I  had  not  slept  during  the  entire  fourteen  days ; 


302  FROM  THE   FORECASTLE  TO   THE   CABIN. 

at  least,  I  had  never  lost  consciousness  of  my  pain  or 
been  free  of  mental  anxiety.  My  anxiety  was  for  the 
safety  of  the  ship,  and  on  account  of  the  enormous  cost 
that  would  be  incurred  in  repairing  her.  There  being  no 
dry  dock  here,  she  would  have  to  be  hove  down,  which 
would  necessitate  discharging  the  cargo,  and  disman- 
tling. Moreover,  there  was  the  cost  of  maintaining  or 
forwarding  the  passengers,  gold  being  at  a  premium  of 
280.  I  felt  there  would  be  little  left  of  the  ship  after 
her  debts  were  paid.  But  I  matured  a  plan  to  avoid 
this  enormous  cost,  should  I  live  to  get  ashore  to  have 
it  executed. 

Early  next  morning  I  was  placed  on  a  stretcher,  sided 
a  foot  high,  and  taken  to  the  gangway,  where  a  wdiip 
from  the  main-yard  lowered  me  over  the  side.  The 
wails  of  the  warm-hearted  emigrants,  as  they  looked 
upon  my  emaciated  form,  were  heart-rending.  They 
never  expected  to  see  me  alive  again.  Mr.  Dabney  was 
along-side  as  soon  as  the  authorities  permitted,  and  su- 
perintended my  landing,  which  was  accomplished  with 
much  difficulty,  as  there  was  a  high  sea  and  wind.  On 
landing,  I  at  once  felt  myself  among  friends.  I  had 
pulled  my  cap  over  my  face  to  hide  it  from  the  curious 
eyes  of  the  Portuguese. 

Presently  I  felt  my  hand  taken  as  if  by  the  hand  of 
an  angel,  and  heard  the  comforting  words  that  Christ 
would  deliver  me.  I  raised  my  cap,  and  opened  my 
eyes  upon  a  countenance  so  benign  and  loving,  that  my 
spirits  received  fresh  impetus  in  the  struggle  for  life. 
1  was  looking  at  a  face  that  I  shall  never  forget.  It 
was  the  face  of  Mr.  Dabney,  our  consul,  better  known 


KIND  TREATMENT  ON   SHORE.  303 

as  the  philanthropist  of  the  island,  for  his  many  virtues, 
his  even  -  handed  justice,  and  liis  care  of  the  sick  and 
needy.  I  received  such  care  and  sympathy  from  him 
and  his  family  as  seldom  falls  to  the  lot  of  man  at  the 
hands  of  a  stranger. 

My  stretcher  was  slung  upon  a  bamboo,  and  so  carried 
on  the  shoulders  of  natives  to  the  hotel.  Captain  Wins- 
low,  with  his  first-lieutenant,  Mr.  Thornton,  were  on  the 
island  waiting  to  take  command  of  the  Kearsarge  upon 
lier  arrival.  There  were  also  Captain  and  Mrs.  Gray, 
and  all  these,  with  an  American  dentist  and  his  wife, 
made  quite  an  American  colony.  They  vied  with  one 
another  in  their  attempts  to  alleviate  ray  suffering.  Un- 
der such  treatment  I  gained  strength  so  rapidly  that  in 
two  weeks  I  was  ready  to  be  operated  upon.  The  doc- 
tors, two  in  number  (one  a  native,  the  other  a  foreigner, 
who  had  come  to  the  island  twenty  years  before  and 
had  never  been  off  it  afterwards),  were  the  only  medical 
men  in  Fayal,  or  its  neighbor,  the  island  of  Pico,  with 
their  sixty  thousand  inhabitants.  They  knew  little  of 
modern  surgical  practice,  and  amputation  was  their 
hobby ;  but  when  they  proposed  to  try  their  skill  on 
me,  I  objected  to  being  dismembered,  for  a  one-legged 
sailor  is  doomed  to  shore  service,  though  a  one-armed 
one  with  a  steel  auxiliary  is  sometimes  seen  on  ship- 
board. Amputation  was  too  often  resorted  to  unneces- 
sarily in  former  times,  but  now  our  home  surgeons  pride 
themselves  in  saving  instead  of  cutting  off  a  limb,  and  in 
their  skill  they  lead  the  world  ;  to  this  I  bear  testimony. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  it  was  decided  by  a  survey, 
composed  of  the  various  underwriters'  agents,  that  as 


304  FROM. THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE   CABIN. 

tlie  ship  had  lost  her  rudder-braces  with  the  rudder,  in 
order  to  replace  these  she  would  have  to  be  stripped  and 
hove  down.  I  could  not  accept  this  proposition,  and 
suggested  that  the  ship  should  be  trimmed  bj  the  head 
to  bring  her  stern-post  out  as  much  as  possible,  when 
there  could  be  fitted  to  it  a  cradle  consisting  of  two  flat 
iron  bars  on  each  side,  held  in  position  by  iron  braces, 
to  receive  the  rudder.  The  upper  part  could  be  bolted 
to  the  stern  -  post,  and  the  lower  lield  in  position  by 
chains  brought  into  the  quarter  -  chocks.  The  rudder 
might  be  five  feet  shorter  on  the  foot  than  the  old  one. 
This  was  the  plan  I  had  conceived,  and  was  determined 
to  have  carried  out  to  save  the  enormous  expense  and 
delay.  Mr.  Dabney  was  the  only  one  of  the  agents  who 
agreed  with  me  that  this  could  be  done,  and  he  also  had 
it  executed  against  the  protests  of  the  agents,  who  de- 
clared that  the  ship  would  not  be  sea-wortliy.  I  said 
that  I  would  assume  the  responsibility,  as  I  intended  to 
go  home  in  the  ship.  Some  ship-masters  are  too  ready 
to  take  advice  from  underwriters'  agents  in  foreign  ports, 
and  to  shift  their  responsibility  upon  otliers.  They  also 
make  a  sad  mistake  when  they  give  up  the  command  of 
their  ships  to  pilots.  The  pilot's  duty  is  only  to  indi- 
cate the  courses  to  be  steered ;  but  he  obligingly  takes 
command  if  the  captain  desires  it. 

The  fitting  to  a  ship's  stern  of  such  an  apparatus  as  I 
have  described  was  the  first  work  of  the  kind.  This 
was  acknowledged  by  the  underwriters,  as  well  as  by 
Mr.  Dabney,  who  waived  his  commission  in  my  favor, 
in  a  handsome  letter  to  my  associate  owners.  This  doc- 
ument is  preserved  as  an  lieirloom  in  my  family. 


NOVEL   KIND   OF   BONESETTING.       .  305 

On  the  fourteenth  day,  as  before  stated,  I  was  ready 
for  the  doctor  to  draw  my  leg,  which  was  two  inches 
shorter  than  the  other,  into  position.  The  bedstead  was 
secured  by  shores  and  braces,  head  and  foot.  My  thigh 
was  fastened  by  a  sheet  to  the  headpost,  and  my  foot 
secured  by  a  towel  to  a  tackle  hooked  to  a  strap,  which 
was  held  by  a  beam  outside  the  window-casement.  Chlo- 
roform was  applied,  and  three  of  my  sailors  hauled  upon 
the  tackle.  This  was  the  kind  of  bonesetting  practised 
upon  me,  nor  was  I  any  more  skilfully  treated  later  on. 
A  part  of  my  heel  had  to  be  taken  off  on  account  of 
gangrene.  In  dressing  the  heel  the  leg  was  allowed  to 
drop  out  of  position,  when  the  muscles  drew  it  up  and 
forced  a  point  of  bone  through  the  flesh  in  front.  It 
looked  like  a  large  front  tooth.  This,  after  what  I  had 
suffered  in  the  last  forty  days,  nearly  deprived  me  of  my 
courage.  We  were,  however,  in  constant  expectation  of 
the  arrival  of  the  Kearsarge,  which,  I  knew,  had  a  skil- 
ful American  surgeon  on  board,  and  he,  I  thought,  would 
set  my  leg  properly.  But  when  she  did  arrive,  all  the 
surgeon  was  ready  to  do  for  me,  in  the  condition  I  was 
in,  was  to  amputate.  This  I  would  not  listen  to,  and  he 
advised  me,  as  my  ship  was  nearly  ready,  to  go  home, 
for  another  month  of  such  treatment  as  I  had  receivedy 
he  declared,  would  kill  me.  He  packed  my  leg,  and  I 
was  put  on  board  the  ship,  after  being  ashore  fifty-two 
days.  Mr.  Dabney  sent  his  son-in-law  with  me  as  a 
companion,  and,  with  the  ship  in  charge  of  Mr.  Bursley, 
we  arrived  safely  in  ISTew  York. 

Dr.  Ayers,  of  Brooklyn,  and  Dr.  Stone,  of  Kew  York, 
immediately  operated  upon  me.     They  cut  off  part  of- 


306  FROM   THE   FORECASTLE   TO   THE   CABIN. 

the  bone  which  had  been  exposed,  placed  it  in  position, 
and  held  it  by  wire  passed  through  holes  bored  in  the 
bones  and  lashed.  Mj  convalescence  was  slow,  and  I 
was  not  out  of  bed  till  J^ovember.  Twenty-three  years 
have  since  passed,  and  my  leg  is,  strange  to  say,  as  long 
as  its  fellow,  and  just  as  strong,  nor  has  it  ever  been 
affected  by  changes  in  the  weather.  The  Achilles  ten- 
don has  somewhat  too  close  a  hold  npon  the  heel,  which 
causes  me  at  times  to  limp,  but  the  limp  is  so  slight  as 
to  be  hardly  perceptible. 

I  hope  that  I  have  not  tired  the  reader  with  this  his- 
tory of  a  broken  leg.  I  have  presented  it  as  affording 
an  illustration  of  the  endurance  of  which  the  human 
body  is  capable  when  it  has  a  firm  will-power  to  fall 
back  upon. 

Before  I  close  this  volume  I  will  relate  an  incident 
w^iich  occurred  during  my  stay  at  Fayal.  The  Rebel- 
lion had  assumed  such  gigantic  proportions  that  the 
world  believed  our  country  would  be  severed.  Lieuten- 
ant Thornton  was  at  my  bedside,  listening  to  Mr.  Dab- 
ney  relate  the  heroic  deeds  of  the  late  Commodore  Eeed, 
commander  of  the  privateer  General  Arinstrong^  in  the 
battle  against  the  British  fleet  in  the  harbor  of  Fayal. 
No  nation  records  its  parallel.  During  this  recital  news 
was  brought  that  a  suspicious  craft,  which  had  made  her 
appearance  in  the  afternoon,  and  was  supposed  to  be  the 
Alabama^  was  nearing  the  anchorage.  Thornton  had 
been  in  a  terrible  state  of  excitement  all  the  afternoon 
because,  after  obtaining  my  consent,  he  was  not  allowed 
by  Captain  Winslow  to  take  our  boats  and  crew  of  black 
men,  well  armed,  to  surprise  and  capture  the  stranger 


INSIGNIFICANCE   OF  OUR  NAVAL   POWER.  307 

that  night.  Winslow  would  not  allow  the  attempt  to 
be  made,  through  fear  of  offending  the  Portuguese  Gov- 
ernment. 

1  relate  this  incident  chiefly  for  the  benefit  of  our 
Washington  law -makers,  who  look  with  indifference 
npon  the  loss  of  our  navj  and  the  brave  men  who  played 
such  a  prominent  part  on  the  seas  in  1776-1812, 1861-65. 
But  for  these  heroes,  whose  nursery  was  our  mercantile 
marine,  this  nation  of  freemen  and  free  government 
would  not  now  be  in  existence.  Through  this  indiffer- 
ence our  naval  power  has  sunk  below  that  of  the  smallest 
nation  on  the  globe.  Once  our  emblem  floated  from 
the  mast-heads  of  vessels  seen  in  every  sea,  bay,  and  har- 
bor ;  and  now,  what  are  we  ^  One  of  the  great  nations 
of  earth,  at  the  mercy  of  the  least  of  nations  in  case  of 
war.  We  have  been  too  much  absorbed  in  the  interior 
development  of  our  country  and  in  money  -  making. 
The  making  of  money  has  brought  with  it  such  luxuri- 
ous modes  of  living  that  if  war  were  to  come  upon  us 
we  would  find  ourselves  as  enervated  as  the  Romans 
were  when  their  empire  tottered  around  them.  British 
gold  is  playing  the  same  prominent  part  in  Washington 
now  that  it  played  in  the  days  of  Benedict  Arnold. 
The  loudest  clamorers  for  free  ships  are  from  those  who 
never  raised  their  arms  in  battle  for  our  country.  'No 
sailor  who  loves  his  country  and  flag  will  encourage  an 
enemy  who  took  such  mean  advantage  in  our  struggle 
for  life  as  to  allow  freebooters  to  leave  his  harbors  and 
prey  upon  our  defenceless  shipping.  The  destruction 
of  our  commerce  through  her  treachery  has  given  to 
England  supremacy  on  the  seas.     Fie  upon  the  coward 


308  FROM  THE  FORECASTLE  TO  THE  CABIN. 

who  says  we  can't  build  ships  equal  to  hers,  and  asks  for 
permission  to  buy  her  ships.  I  saj  truthfully  that  we 
have  taught  our  mother  country  many  lessons  in  the 
arts  of  war  and  in  science.  It  is  not  for  the  American 
mind  to  retrograde  and  to  look  across  the  ocean  for  an 
inspiration. 


THE  END. 


VOYAGES  OF  A  MERCHANT  NAVlGATOIl 

Of  the  Days  that  are  Past.  Compiled  from  the  Jour- 
nals and  Letters  of  the  late  Kichard  J.  Cleveland. 
By  H.  W.  S.  Cleveland.  With  Portrait,  pp.  x., 
246.     12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 


A  volume  of  the  highest  interest.  It  is  not  only  authentic  historical 
material  concerning  a  most  important  epocli ;  it  is  a  thrilling  and  fasci- 
nating romance,  and  a  portrayal  of  character  which  forces  admiration  and 
deiiglit,  ...  A  story  of  human  achievement  that  reads  like  a  fairy  tale. — 
N.  Y.  Commercial  Advertise)'. 

,  The  part  taken  by  Salem  in  the  revolution,  and  the  incidents  of  a  suc- 
cessful commercial  career,  are  here  pictured  with  a  graphic  pen,  showing 
that  if  truth  is  not  stranger  than  fiction,  it  is  at  least  as  full  of  all  that 
can  kindle  the  imagination,  please  the  fancy,  and  instruct  the  heart. — 
-A^.  Y.  Journal  of  Commerce. 

The  volume  is  exceedingly  entertaining,  and  a  valuable  addition  to  the 
maritime  history  of  the  country. — Albany  Press. 

These  pages  presented  by  a  filial  hand,  with  the  rich  charm  of  simplic- 
ity and  the  added  beauty  of  truth,  will  command  wide  attention  from  every 
class  in  the  country.  .  .  .  They  disclose  the  hardy  and  adventuious  spirit, 
the  skill  and  principle  that  made  the  struggle  for  freedom  successful. 
We  hope  not  only  that  every  adult  will  ponder  the  story  here  presented, 
but  that  every  boy  may  also  find  it  among  his  reading.  It  will  certainly 
aid  both  character  and  the  American  instinct. — Hartford  Post 

For  all  who  would  learn  the  character  of  our  American  merchants  and 
seamen  in  the  early  days  of  tbis  century,  this  book  will  possess  a  wonder- 
ful interest.  ...  A  story  which  has  all  the  elements  of  romance.  .  .  .  The 
style  in  which  the  work  is  given  merits  the  highest  commendation  for  its 
simplicity  and  tender,  filial  expression.  .  .  .  Fathers  who  wish  to  show 
their  boys  of  what  stuff  the  American  seaman  and  merchant  was  made  in 
former  days,  can  do  no  better  than  to  buy  this  biography,  for  their  own 
reading  first,  and  then  for  handing  over  to  the  younger  members  of  the 
household. —  Christian  Intelligencer^  N.  Y. 

The  subject  of  this  memoir  was  a  merchant  seaman,  but  a  bold  and  en- 
terprising one,  and  at  a  time  when  a  long  voyage,  half  round  the  world, 
Avas  a  very  different  thing  from  what  it  is  now.  The  book  is  made  up 
chiefly  of  his  own  journals  and  letters,  and  is  in  that  way  made  to  rep- 
resent so  much  the  more  vividly  his,  in  some  respects,  striking  individual- 
ity. It  is  a  very  interesting  book,  and  a  good  one  for  a  young  man  to 
read. — The  Sta7\dard^  Chicago. 

(  All  who  have  learned  to  feel  that  happiness  or  pleasure  merely  is  bound 
to  no  man,  but  highest  reward  in  this  life  is  to  be  found  in  the  patient 
pursuit  of  duty,  the  quiet  achievement  of  which  alone  brings  satisfaction 
and  good  cheer,  will  find  their  spirits  refreshed  by  this  book. — Living 
Churchy  Chicago. 

Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

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or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


A  TRAMP  TRIP. 

How  to  See  Europe  on  Fifty  Cents  a  Bay.     By  Lee 
Meriwether,     pp.  276.     12mo,  Cloth,  $1  25. 


"  Travelling  afoot,  and  determined  to  see  the  people  and  country  face 
to  face  at  the  least  possible  cost,  his  movements  are  free  and  full  of  in- 
cident, and  they  are  described  with  a  crisp  minuteness,  seasoned  with  gay 
or  quiet  humor,  that  is  very  engaging.  The  story  throughout  is  fresh, 
piquant,  and  animated.  To  see  how  the  common  people  live,  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  houses  of  the  peasantry,  to  have  some  hair-breadth  escapes, 
some  amusing  adventures,  and  some  rather  embarrassing  experiences, 
were  all  included  in  the  "Tramp  Trip.'  The  tramp  extended  over  Italy, 
Switzerhmd,  Bavaria,  Prussia,  Austria,  Hungary,  Servia,  Bulgaria,  Turkey 
in  Europe,  and  Russia,  and  is  brimful  of  brief  and  novel  sketciies  of  the 
people  of  those  countries,  and  of  their  characteristic,  social,  industrial, 
and  other  features." 

Any  one  who  wishes  a  merry  tramp  trip  from  New  York  to  the  Bos- 
porus, and  who  would  have  for  a  companion  a  rollicking,  jovial  young 
gentleman  of  quick  wit,  keen  appreciation  of  the  ludicrous,  much  self- 
possession  and  native  common-sense,  will  do  well  to  buy  this  book  and 
join  Mr.  Meriwether  in  his  interesting  rambles.  He  will  not  be  likely  to 
find  himself  often  in  gilded  saloons,  or  have  the  chance  to  hob-nob  with 
bloated  aristocrats.  But  he  will  be  given  such  a  picture  of  low  life  as  he 
will,  perhaps,  never  otherwise  obtain,  unless  (which  is  very  urdikely)  he 
should  take  it  into  his  head  to  undergo  Mr.  Meriwether's  experiences.  .  .  . 
That  Mr.  Meriwether  has  the  power  of  graphic  description  will  be  evident 
to  all  who  read  his  account  of  his  midnight  visit  to  Vesuvius;  and  no  one 
will  be  likely  to  forget  his  jovial  audacity  who  follows  him  while  at  Rome 
into  the  "gallery  of  skulls  and  bones." — Brooklyn  Union. 

The  book  is  most  excellently  written  as  by  a  man  to  men ;  there  is  no 
aiming  at  effect,  but  the  effect  is  present.  The  reading  is  a  treat  no  one 
should  deny  himself. —  llie  Evening  Post,  Hartford. 

It  contains  a  great  deal  of  interesting  matter  about  topics  not  found  in 
ordinary  books  of  travel. —  Christian  Advocate,  St.  Louis. 

Since  Bayard  Taylor's  "  Views  Afoot,"  there  has  not  been  a  more  novel 
record  of  European  travel  than  "A  Tramp  Trip."  .  .  .  The  book  is  a  rec- 
ord of  amusing  and  interesting  adventures. — N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

Mr.  Meriwether  went  abroad  to  collect  facts  for  the  United  States  Bu- 
reau of  Statistics  about  the  income  and  expenses  of  the  European  work- 
ing-men. The  results  of  his  investigations  are  contained  in  his  report  to 
tiie  Bureau.  This  book  gives  his  personal  experience>  and  au  interesting 
narrative  it  is. — iV.  Y.  Sun. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

U^T'  The  above  work  sent  by  mail,  pontage  prepaid.,  to  any  part  of  the  United  Sta'es 
or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  the  price,. 


THEIR  PILGRIMAGE. 

By  Charles  Dudley  Warner.     Richly  Illustrated  by 
C.  S.  Reinhart.     pp.  viii.,  364.     8vo,  Half  Leather, 

$2  00.  

For  pleasant  and  truthful  description  of  most  of  the  celebrated  water- 
ing-places of  this  country,  for  vivacity  and  humor  in  the  portraiture  of 
people  and  their  ways,  and  for  downright  interest  as  a  story,  the  book 
has  had  no  equal  this  year. — Observer,  N.  Y. 

No  more  entertaining  travelling  companions  for  a  tour  of  pleasure  re- 
sorts could  be  wished  for  than  those  who  in  Mr.  Warner's  pages  chat  and 
laugh,  and  skim  the  cream  of  all  the  enjoyment  to  be  found  from  Mount 
Washington  to  the  Sulphur  Springs.  .  .'.  His  pen-i)ictures  of  the  charac- 
ters typical  of  eacii  resort,  of  the  manner  of  life  followed  at  each,  of  the 
humor  and  absurdities  peculiar  to  Saratoga,  or  Newport,  or  Bar  Harbor,  as 
the  case  may  be,  are  as  good-natured  as  they  are  clever.  The  satire,  when 
tliere  is  any,  is  of  the  mildest,  and  the  general  tone  is  that  of  one  glad  to 
look  on  the  brightest  side  of  the  cheerful,  pleasure-seeking  world  with 
whicli  he  mingles.  ...  In  Mr.  Reinhart  the  author  has  an  assistant  who 
has  done  with  his  pencil  almost  exactly  what  Mr.  Warner  has  accom- 
plished with  his  pen.  His  drawings  are  spirited,  catch  with  wonderful 
success  the  tone  and  costume  of  each  place  visited,  and  abound  in  good- 
natured  fun. — (Jhrintian  Vniofi,  N.  Y. 

Warner  alone  is  good,  humorous,  and  funny;  but  Warner  and  Reinhart 
combined  must  have  the  palm.  .  .  .  Human  nature  is  most  deiiciously  set 
off  by  Mr.  Warner's  skilful  pen  and  Mr.  Reinhart's  dexterous  pencil.— 
Boston  Advertiser. 

The  watering-places  are  all  exquisitely  touched  with  the  life  which  they 
represent,  and  the  pictures  will  stand  for  an  accurate  exposition  of  the 
social  features  of  our  American  homes  at  the  sea-side  or  at  the  mount- 
ains. The  writing  is  in  Mr.  Warner's  best  vein.  It  is  not  intentionally 
humorous,  neither  is  it  forgetful  of  that  quality.  The  characteristic  of 
the  l)ook  is  that  it  delights  the  reader.  ...  It  is  entertaining  in  the  high- 
est degree  as  a  treatment  of  American  society,  and  this  is  what  it  was  in- 
tended to  be.  The  illustrations  are-  a  notable  feature  of  the  work. — 
Boston  Herald. 

Mr.  Reinhart's  spirited  and  realistic  illustrations  are  very  attractive, 
and  contribute  to  make  an  unusually  handsome  book.  We  have  already 
commented  upon  the  earlier  cliapters  of  the  text;  and  the  happy  blend- 
ing of  travel  and  fiction  which  we  looked  forward  to  with  confidence  did, 
in  fact,  distinguisli  this  story  among  the  serials  of  the  year.  The  appear- 
ance of  the  complete  work  allows  one  to  appreciate  better  the  wide  area 
and  the  marked  diversity  of  scene  traversed. — N.  Y.  Evening  Post. 

Nobody  will  question  that  Mr.  Warner  has  seen  with  his  own  eyes 
every  landscape,  every  stretch  of  beach,  every  hotel  piazza  and  dining- 
room,  every  skirt  and  whisker  which  in  this  book  he  describes.  There  is 
an  intense  life-likeness  to  it  all,  like  that  of  the  stereograph;  the  figures 
are  as  real  as  the  places;  the  characters  are  more  than  types;  they  even 
will  recognize  themselves.  .  .  .  The  author's  humor  is  a  constant  quality. 
His  good-nature  is  contagious.  His  companion  artist  is  in  sympathy 
with  him. — Literary  World,  Boston. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

'^  The  above  work  sent  by  mail,  postage  prepaid,  to  any  part  of  the  United  States 
or  Canada,  on  receipt  of  the  price. 


W.  CLARK  RUSSELL'S  NOVELS, 


The  sea  and  seamen  have  never  been  so  well  described. .  .  .  The  author 
has  done  for  the  merchant-sailor  what  Marryat  did  for  the  man-o'-war's 
man.  .  .  .  If  Dana  and  Defoe  had  written  together  they  could  not  have 
produced  anytliiiig  better.— Vanity  Fair,  London. 

A  novel  by  Mr.  Clark  Russell  cannot  fail  to  reach  the  strongest  inter- 
est, and  to  be  ciiaracterized  by  the  genius  of  one  who,  beyond  all  writers, 
understands  sailors  and  the  sea. — The  Graphic,  London. 

As  a  writer  on  all  subjects  connected  with  the  sea  and  those  who  live 
on  it,  he  is  without  a  rival. — Morning  Tbsi,  London. 

Those  bewitching  narratives  of  the  sea,  by  which  Mr.  Clark  Russell  sets 
us  all  longing  to  be  afloat.— CoMri  Journal,  London. 

A  SAILOR'S  SWEETHEART.     4to,  Paper,  15  cents. 

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A  VOYAGE  TO  TilE  CAPE.     12rao,  Paper,  25  cents. 

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AULD  LANG  SYNE.     4to,  Paper,  10  cents. 

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JACK'S   COURTSHIP.     16mo,  Half  Bound,  15  cents;   4to, 
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JOHN  HOLDSWORTH,  CHIEF  MATE.    4to,  Paper,  20  cts. 

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THE  WRECK  OF  THE  '' GROSVENOR."     8vo,  Paper,  30 
cents;  4to,  Paper,  15  cents. 


Published  by  HARPER  &  BROTHERS,  New  York. 

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